Exodus of Omega
by Vector 71
Summary: The telling of how Aria T'Loak regains control of Omega. Of course she does not do it alone and will need the help of Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy. This tale might also have some light fluff in it.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Bioware owns all. This is just a what if/how Aria retakes Omega. This is my first attempt at writing FanFiction. After reading other writer's works and coming away inspired, I thought I would try my hand at telling a tale in the Mass Effect Universe. I welcome any and all feedback / PMs. Thanks for reading! _

Exodus of Omega

Chapter 1: The Offer

Aria T'Loak slumped in her couch in the VIP section of Purgatory, the bar that she was currently the reigning queen of while stranded on the Citadel. Cutoff from Omega and forced to endure the ceremoniousness of the Citadel; she was bored and seething at Cerberus and The Illusive Man for her current plight. She had managed to unite the mercenary forces of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and the Blood Pack with the help of Commander Shepard and was plotting on how best to mobilize them to help her take back Omega. She had come to utterly detest the Citadel and was ready to wreak havoc on something.

"Get me another Scotch" the asari ordered at one of her bodyguards. Scotch had been one of the few palatable things she had found on the Citadel, that and the frequent nightly visits from Councilor Tevos. The latter had also become somewhat of a habit and that had Aria a bit concerned; she was not one to form 'habits' with others. Her mind quickly justified Tevos though, if it was the end then why the fuck not. Besides, Tevos was at least soft on the eyes and interesting. When they were alone, the Councilor was uninhibited and every bit Aria's equal.

"Here you go Boss" muttered the turian holding Aria's Scotch on the rocks.

Aria absently took the drink and dismissed the guard holding it. She swirled it once, then swallowed deeply. The slight burn and earthy flavors went down easily.

Aria's omni-tool beeped, indicating that someone was trying to contact her and brought her back into focus. "What" she drily said into the communicator.

"Aria, this is Commander Shepard. I received some concerning news about Cerberus, Omega and the Omega-4 Relay. Looks like our friends have found some kind of Reaper tech at the Collector base, something big. They are in the process of securing a payload and transporting it to Omega and then on to who knows where. Since Cerberus is using Omega as a staging site for anything from the relay, I thought you might be interested in teaming up to intercept them and in the process regain control of Omega."

Aria stared at her omni-tool, fully digesting what Shepard was suggesting. "Why are you telling me this? You have a team and I am hardly known to work well with others." Aria spat the words at Shepard, but she could also not hide her disgust with Cerberus and intrigue at making them pay for their past betrayal.

"You know Omega and I thought you might like the chance to get even with our friend, The Illusive Man. Am I wrong?"

Aria paused and spoke with full authority in to her omni-tool. "No Shepard, I would welcome any chance to retake what is mine and hurt that bastard in the process. Out of curiosity, how did you come by this information and what exactly are they trying to get from the base?"

"The Shadow Broker received some Intel on Cerberus activity in the Terminus Systems. There has been a lot of ship movement across the relay recently. I am not sure exactly what they have discovered, but considering how they are using Reaper tech to indoctrinate their own people, I don't want to let them have any more weapons or ways to corrupt people. I confirmed the fleet activity with Admiral Hackett and it seems legit. If we succeed, it could severely cripple Cerberus and it would kick them off Omega permanently."

Aria laughed at the mention of Doctor Liara T'Soni, the Shadow Broker and more importantly at the thought that she could take back Omega and kick The Illusive Man in the balls at the same time. "Our little broker sure has her fingers in some interesting places." Aria could not help making a comment about Shepard's lover and source of information. "Alright Shepard, you've got me interested; send me your Intel and your plans. I'll be in touch."

Aria ended the conversation and quickly finished her drink. Without thinking, she keyed in the number for Tevos on her omni-tool to arrange for some welcomed stress relief; it was the first time Aria had smiled in months.

Commander Shepard closed the connection with Aria T'Loak and looked over at Liara. Shepard shrugged her shoulders at the conversation. "I think that she's in. I never thought that I would be asking Aria T'Loak to be part of a mission to retake Omega. Do you really think that this is a good idea Liara?"

Liara smiled and placed her hand on Shepard's shoulder. "Shepard, you know Aria's history with Cerberus. She has the resources and desire to hurt them more than most. We will need her and those resources once we reach Omega and if we can secure the Omega-4 Relay, then I would rather deal with her. Aria is a hedonist, but she knows Omega and will do anything in her power to keep balance there. I think she is crucial to ensuring this missions success."

Shepard nodded and took Liara's hand in hers and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She was still not totally convinced of Liara's plan to include Aria, but she knew that Aria was a force to be reckoned with. Either way, she had put the plan into motion and was now relying on Aria to work with her and her team. She was glad to have Liara's resources as the Shadow Broker and even more relieved to have her emotional support.

As Liara was studying some report on her terminal, Shepard caught a quick glimpse of the smile on Liara's face. Shepard turned away and got up to go brief Admiral Hackett on their plan. Here was another chance to procure much needed resources for the war and limit the effectiveness of Cerberus; Shepard was pleased.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Warning, this chapter is full of fluff. Don't worry; there will be action (fighting, blood & guts) to follow. Thanks for reading and a big thanks to those that are following!_

Chapter 2: Farewell

Aria was pacing back-and-forth in her apartment, both attempting to take control of her emotions and to reign in her rage at Cerberus. She was anxious to leave for Omega and engage Cerberus again; they were going to pay for the murder of her daughter, Liselle and for their betrayal on Omega. There was also a part of her that was anticipating the arrival of Councilor Tevos and that unnerved her too. "Oh well, it's only a matter of time before I'm off of this damned station and I might as well have some fun!" Aria said aloud, although not totally convincing herself that it was just fun. Aria went to pour herself a drink and the door chime stopped her in her tracks.

"Come in," Aria commanded. Her heart was beating in her throat as she turned around to find Thea Tevos entering and giving her a knowing smile.

"Good evening Aria," Tevos said, melodically. She was wearing a dark purple asari style dress that covered her from neck to floor, but it also showed off every curve of her very feminine body and flowed seductively when she moved. She looked regal and would easily stand out in a crowd.

Aria took a moment to fully enjoy the view; she returned Tevos's smile with one slightly more predatory.

"I understand that you will be leaving the Citadel soon," Tevos said matter-of-factly.

"How did you know?" Aria asked, surprised. Aria herself had only learned of Shepard's plan a few hours ago and didn't think that it would have reached the Councilor yet.

"I am not without my own resources and besides, Shepard is still a Council Spectre," Tevos said slightly amused by Aria's reaction. "I received a full report right after your call. Commander Shepard was also hoping to obtain additional reports from the Council on Cerberus and their control of Omega. The Commander is concerned about the possible civilian casualties on Omega, since Cerberus will not want to leave easily or give up any of their findings from the Collector base," Tevos said with a hint of sarcasm.

Aria rolled her eyes, "Of course, I sometimes forget just how capable you are Councilor," Aria smugly replied and in the process closed the distance between them with a few long strides.

Aria quickly embraced the other asari and drew her into a long and wanting kiss; Tevos eagerly returned the affection. Their hands began exploring each other, undoing zippers and clasps. They left a trail of clothes on the floor as they made their way to the bedroom.

* * *

Tevos awoke to the morning light that was streaming in through the glass doorway that led to a deck overlooking one of the many gardens on the Citadel. Aria's head was resting on her shoulder and her body was slightly sore from the workout she had given it.

Aria had proved to be quite a welcomed distraction to the horrors that Tevos was bombarded with from Thessia. The Reapers had overtaken her home world swiftly and she regretted the Matriarchs' decision to not join forces with the Alliance sooner. The cost of that decision had been catastrophic for her people and left her burning with guilt.

Tevos lightly kissed Aria's crests then rolled out from underneath her. She moved to the glass doorway and looked out at the view of the Citadel; it was breathtaking and peaceful and completely in contrast to the destruction that was occurring throughout the galaxy. Another wave of guilt hit her as she was drawn back to thoughts of Thessia. _'How could the Reapers be defeated and why would Cerberus seem so eager to interfere with any efforts to stop them?'_

Aria was also awake and quietly looked around for her lover. The image of Thea standing in the sunlight was beautiful, but she could see the despair in her posture. She had also felt the shame Thea was carrying during their recent melds, it had seeped out from a deep spot within her that was usually hidden. Without thinking, Aria walked behind the asari and wrapped herself around her. Tevos was surprised by the outright affection from Aria, but welcomed it.

"I know you are eager to get underway with your plans to take Omega back," Tevos said still looking away from Aria. "I know what they have done to you; the loss of Liselle and what you gave up for Omega. I think you know that I care for you and I know that scares you. You have allowed me in to areas of your mind that are usually so guarded," Tevos whispered. "Everything is so uncertain now with the Reapers and there is so much loss," her voice trailed off.

Aria cupped Thea's chin and turned her face to meet her eyes. A slight feeling of panic washed across her. Aria's eyes swirled black and she initiated a light meld. '_I know Thea. I know the burdens that you carry too. It's all so overwhelming. I can't think about a future now or what this all means, but you do mean a lot to me as well.' _Aria's thoughts were filled with all kinds of emotions, most of which were regret and affection.

They both lingered in the meld for a few minutes, exchanging reassurances and then each withdrew. Thea started to get dressed while Aria threw on a satin robe and headed to the kitchen. Neither knew what to say, so they let the silence hang between them.

Tevos was the first one to break the silence. Her voice took the formal tone of the Asari Councilor and not of the lover. "Farewell Aria. I trust that you and Commander Shepard will have a solid plan and that you will be successful. I will look for updates of the mission."

Aria thought, '_It was supposed to be nothing more than a distraction; a onetime indulgence that wasn't laced with feelings, damn it!' _The one night stand that had become a weekly and then almost nightly indulgence and was now about to end.

"Thank you," Aria replied in a tone more stern than she felt. "Omega will be mine and Cerberus will pay," a smile started to form on her lips at the thought.

With that, Tevos turned away and headed for the door; Aria let her go.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I wanted to give a shout out to Rae D. Magdon and her story "The Best Entertainment" #8101991. This story was the one that got me thinking about Aria & Tevos and all sorts of what ifs. In her story, Councilor Tevos's first name is Thea and her assistant is Neota (in case you were curious about the names). Please checkout other author's works in my favorites too; there are some really creative people out there!_

_Again, thanks for reading and I welcome any reviews or PMs!_

Chapter 3: Preparations

Commander Shepard sat in her quarters on the Normandy, going over various report. She was trying to prepare for the mission to overtake Cerberus on Omega and find out what new secret the Illusive Man had found past the Omega-4 Relay. The one report that she was repeatedly drawn to detailed the events of the Cerberus takeover of the station and the use of Adjutants to achieve that goal. The thought of indoctrination through infection and then the rapid transformation of a corpse into Adjutants made her feel ill. "Just what we need to fight, zombies," Shepard spat out in disgust. '_What the hell was the Illusive Man thinking when he let those things escape_,' the thought continued to trouble her.

In looking at all the information on Omega, Shepard was also drawn back to the memories of the last few times she was there. Her first thought was of finding Archangel, who turned out to be one of her closest friends, Garrus Vakarian. Her experience while looking for Archangel had been mostly limited to the Kima district of Omega and she had been more focused on taking out the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack to pay much attention to the actual landscape of the district. '_Garrus should be able to help navigate some of the slums and he is always good in a fight_,' the thought made her smile. '_Garrus might also have some contacts on the station that can help provide details on Cerberus's movements and strongholds_.'

The second memory was of recruiting Mordin Solus, the salarian doctor and former STG operative that had been involved with the creation of the krogan genophage. During that mission, she and her team had fought their way through the Gozu district to find Mordin in the Omega Clinic. They had then been asked to stop a plague that was infecting everyone except vorcha and humans and as such, humans were being blamed for it. Shepard was able to discover that it had been spread by the vorcha but concocted by the Collectors and probably influenced in some way by the Reapers. That had been a far more residential area and would be an easily accessible area for Cerberus to inhabit and set up a base. The memory of Mordin hit her hard, another friend lost to the Reapers.

Shepard continued to take in as much as she could about Omega. She had never really thought much about the actual space station and had instead focused on her tasks while there. Omega was an asteroid that overtime had been converted into a space station and had stretched vertically to 44.7 kilometers through its exploration. Throughout its history, Omega had been mined for element zero and harbored all kinds of notorious groups looking for ways to stay off the radar. The result was a multilayer rock that had been partially terraformed and possessed a mass effect collar to prevent asteroids from hitting it. Some of the districts had so many caverns and crevices that one could easily be lost or go completely unnoticed for months. As you descended to the lower levels, the slums grew even larger. It was the perfect place for criminals to thrive, and rival gangs constantly fought for control of the various resources of the station. Above all of them though was Aria T'Loak, the self proclaimed Pirate Queen of Omega. She was also one of the few people that could successfully unite the inhabitants to reclaim it.

Shepard had always had a certain liking and respect for Aria. She was dangerous, self-serving and vain, but she was also powerful and being an asari, would often take a long-term view of things. Shepard had never truly found herself at odds with her and wondered what this mission would ultimately become. Shepard knew that even Liara, in her role as the Shadow Broker had a respect and unspoken truce with Aria. Ultimately, she thought it would be an interesting undertaking for all of them.

Shepard's comm unit interrupted her studies. "Commander, we will be docking at the Citadel in a few minutes. You asked me to notify you, so consider yourself notified," Joker announced in his normal sarcastic tone.

"I'll be right there," Shepard replied. She put the reports aside and headed to the bridge.

"Citadel control, this is the Normandy," Joker announced. "We request permission to dock," Joker stated flatly.

"You're cleared to dock, Normandy. Do you need ground transport?" The Alliance docking officer questioned.

"Yes, I will require transport to the Embassies," replied Commander Shepard.

"Right away, Citadel control out."

Joker looked over at Shepard, ready with a sarcastic comment. "Well this will be a first for us Commander, the Shadow Broker and the Pirate Queen on the Normandy! Do you think they both will be able to play nice? I bet the sparks start flying! I wonder if Liara will be jealous of another hot asari on the ship."

"I have no doubt that Aria and I will be able to work together without incident Joker," Liara replied in her normal calming tone. She noticed that the pilot's posture had become stiff and that he lowered his head slightly; his reaction caused her to smile inwardly.

"Liara, you definitely have a way of making an entrance!" Commander Shepard couldn't help but laugh at Joker and his ill timed comments. "Are you and Garrus ready to go?"

"Whenever you are; Garrus is waiting for us at the docking bay," Liara replied.

"Alright then, I need to check in with the Council quickly for any updates and then we can pickup supplies and our newest guest. Let's get this operation started," Shepard said while taking Liara's arm and making her way to meet up with Garrus.

* * *

Councilor Tevos had requested that Commander Shepard report in before she headed out on her next mission. Tevos wanted to provide as much information on Cerberus and their recent activity in the Terminus Systems, unfortunately she did not have much to offer. In her mind though, she also wanted to be able to monitor their progress and be able to keep track of Aria and what better way than through Shepard.

The door to her office slide open, it was her assistant. "Councilor, Commander Shepard is here to meet with you," Neota announced.

"Please send her in and thank you, Neota," replied Tevos.

Councilor Tevos motioned to a set of chairs and got down to business. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me again Commander. The Council has received recent reports indicating that the human occupants of Omega are being evacuated."

"Evacuated? Is it everyone or just the human population? Do you know where they are being taken to?" Shepard was very curious about this news and instantly got a bad feeling about it.

"I believe they are being taken to Horizon to a facility called Sanctuary and yes, it appears to just be the human population," Tevos replied. "We do not have much more information than that, I am afraid. Also, I was hoping that you would be able to provide me with regular updates of how your mission progresses. As you know, this operation will hopefully change the balance of power in the Terminus Systems. The Council would also like to know of any potential Reaper technology that you might find from the Omega-4 Relay. I have discussed this with Admiral Hackett and he agrees that it would be beneficial to share all your acquired information."

"Of course Councilor," Shepard nodded in agreement. Shepard stood to leave and then turned back towards Tevos. She paused briefly, looked down and then deliberately made eye contact with the asari Councilor. "Councilor Tevos, I am very sorry for the failure at Thessia. Cerberus was already there and so were the damned Reapers. We will make sure that we hit Cerberus hard and get Omega secured," Shepard said with a tinge of anger and sadness. "Hopefully whatever we find can help with the war against the Reapers and benefit all of us."

"Thank you, Commander and may the Goddess watch over you," Tevos said trying not to become emotional. Both women felt the weight of Thessia on them and the momentum of the war.

With that, Shepard left the Embassy and headed to Purgatory to meet up with her team and Aria T'Loak.

* * *

After months of being a refugee on the Citadel, Aria T'Loak felt like a caged animal. She was ready to tear into Cerberus or anything else that crossed her path. The thought of stepping foot on Omega again and being met with force made her biotics flare slightly and a wicked smile formed on her lips. She looked over her apartment to take inventory on anything that she might need. She had been forced to leave Omega quickly and had arrived with almost nothing. Years of covert commando work and mercilessly running the largest criminal syndicate on Omega had left her with little in sentimental value. She saw herself as a lone-wolf that need the use of others, but did not need or want to be attached to them. Omega had been different, it was hers and she was its heart and soul and she had been gone too long. She opted to leave things the way they were and to only take some clothes, her custom armor and her pistol; with that, she left for Purgatory.

The plan was relatively straight forward; she had contacted each of the three merc groups and compelled them to send ships to meet up with the Normandy. Together with Shepard's people they would covertly dock their shuttles in one of the lower districts, while the Normandy and some of the merc ships would attempt to secure the Omega-4 Relay. Once inside Omega, they would form two teams – one to do the fighting and one to do the recognizance. Aria was also planning to make contact with the inhabitants of the slums and work on resistance in the form of another rebellion.

Once Omega had been retaken and Aria reestablished as the Pirate Queen, the mercs could reestablish their territories prior to the Cerberus coup. The Omega-4 Relay would then be monitored by the Aria's forces to ensure that Cerberus would not be able to regain a foothold. All-in-all, Aria would end up stronger and more entrenched in Omega and the Terminus Systems. Now she and Shepard just had to execute the plan.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: A BIG Thank You to everyone that has left a review, PM or just continues to follow my story. I wanted to let you all know that it has been fun to write so far! Also, I have been on vacation this past week and that has given me more time to write. I promise to keep the updates coming, but they might not be as frequent as these first four chapters have been. It will all depend on how busy work is this week._

_Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!_

Chapter 4: Departure

Commander Shepard, Liara T'Soni and Garrus Vakarian all sat in the Purgatory Bar on the Citadel, waiting for Aria T'Loak to arrive. In keeping with her notorious reputation, Aria was already over two hours late. Shepard was not surprised and decided to use the time to relax with her lover and best friend prior to another stressful mission. Garrus had been filling Liara in on his exploits as Archangel and how he had managed, singlehandedly, to take out the various crime lords on Omega. This was a tale that seemed to grow larger every time he told it. Shepard could not help but laugh at his exaggerations and add in her part of the story too.

"Can we get another round of drinks over here," Garrus jovially barked at a waitress as she passed by. The waitress nodded and headed off to fill their order. Garrus was enjoying his time off the Normandy, catching up with his friends; it had been a long time since they were able to get together and let off steam. Thessia had been an emotionally devastating mission for all of them, especially Liara. Garrus was happy to see her smiling and trying to take her mind off the war. Besides, any opportunity to get in a few drinks was okay with him. Even Shepard seemed to be more relaxed then she had in the last few weeks. Their drinks were delivered and Garrus continued on with his tales of heroics.

Finally, after they had finished yet another round of drinks, Aria T'Loak strutted into Purgatory with a self-satisfied grin. "I see that you all haven't been wasting any time trying to figure out how to take on Cerberus, you will just drink them under the table at Afterlife," she said sarcastically. She then reached down to pick up the untouched shot in front of Liara and quickly downed it. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then turned to head towards the door. "Coming," she said without looking backwards.

In typical Aria fashion, she had made an entrance when she was ready and then dictated when they would be leaving. '_Luckily for Aria_,' Shepard thought, '_I am ready to get out of here_.' Liara was pressed next to her and feeling particularly comforting at that moment. They all chuckled a bit at Aria's actions, her forwardness and self confidence were ever present and they were all a bit tipsy from multiple rounds they downed during the wait. Shepard and Garrus finished their drinks and started gathering up their things.

Liara was actually relieved that Aria had finished off her drink. She was not used to consuming shots of tequila and was developing a headache. She had enjoyed listening to Garrus and Shepard share all their stories and their attempts to one-up each other. It had also been nice to have Shepard move closer after each round until Shepard had wrapped her arm around her waist and leaned in snuggly against her. Liara took the opportunity to sneak in a quick kiss before they got up to leave. The group followed Aria out to the docking bay where the Normandy would be waiting for them. Shepard allowed Aria to set the pace so that she could have more time with Liara.

* * *

"Nice ship, will you give me the grand tour, Shepard? Oh yes, and where should I put my things?" Aria asked Shepard alluringly, as soon as they entered the Normandy. "Maybe you would like to be 'debriefed' before we get to Omega. I have heard that the view from your quarters is amazing," Aria continued smiling deviously at Liara. "Is it true that you even have the Shadow Broker's terminals secured in here somewhere? I would love to have a look at those."

To Liara's credit, she did not take the bait. Instead, she calmly took Shepard's arm and led her towards the elevator. "The Commander's quarters, like the Commander herself, are amazing and also already occupied," she purred and shot Aria a knowing smile of her own.

Seeing Liara's reaction, Shepard decided to ignore the innuendo that Aria made, it was Aria after all. "Garrus please have Specialist Traynor take our guest to her quarters," Shepard said absently, as she had quickly become preoccupied with the asari holding her arm rather tightly. "We will meet to discuss the operation at 08:00. Welcome aboard, Aria and please try to behave," Shepard managed as the doors to the elevator closed.

Garrus gave Aria the best smirk that a turian could. "Follow me and I will introduce you to Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor, she can take you down to the Crew Deck and help you get settled in," Garrus said eager to get to the Main Battery and the comfort of the Thanix cannon and calibrations.

At the mention of her name, Sam's ears perked up. She looked over and saw Garrus standing next to a striking asari dressed in leather pants and a formfitting white leather jacket. She smiled at the sight and keenly walked over to Garrus and his guest. "Hello, you must be Aria T'Loak. I am Specialist Traynor and I would be happy to help you get settled in," Sam said with as much professionalism as she could muster.

"Well this one is smart and eager," Aria said as she rolled her eyes at Garrus. "At least she's pretty. By the way Archangel, I don't think that I ever said thank you for limiting my competition on Omega. I look forward to seeing you make a repeat of your skills on the current occupants of Omega. Did I ever tell you how much I like your scar," Aria said almost earnestly.

"Thanks, I think Aria," Garrus said as he left Aria to the care of Samantha. "See you tomorrow." Garrus actually felt a little guilty turning Aria over to the naive human, but then again, they were all going to have to get use to Aria and her antics until they reached Omega.

Aria's attention quickly changed to the young human standing anxiously in front of her. "Okay Specialist, I'm ready to see my room." Aria motioned at her gear, which Sam gathered up.

Sam headed for the elevator, not really sure what to say to Aria. She had heard many stories about the asari Pirate Queen, but to be standing with her now was a bit intimidating. The elevator opened and Aria swiftly walked in; Sam followed and selected the Crew Deck. "You should be comfortable; Commander Shepard had the Starboard Observation Deck renovated for you. You will notice that the Mess Hall is right in the middle of the deck and down the hall is the Port Observation Deck, which is complete with a rec area and a bar. So here you are," Sam said as she opened the door to Aria's room and placed her things on a table by the door. "Is there anything that I can get for you?"

Aria looked over Traynor and smiled her most seductive smile at her. "Perhaps, what do you do for fun around here?"

"Oh, there hasn't been much time for that," Traynor said quickly. "I usually play chess if I can find someone up to it," she said without thinking. Sam's face reddened as she realized that Aria was not looking for a chess partner.

Aria laughed at the response, it had been a long time since someone had been so obtuse to her suggestions. She thought of Tevos briefly and her seductive bravado changed. Thinking of Thea actually made her stomach flutter slightly and a tinge of sadness crept in to her mood for the way they had parted. "Thank you, Samantha. I rather like strategy games and you might find me to be a formidable opponent. Why don't you go get us some drinks from that bar you mentioned and prepare to lose horribly?" Aria looked out the large observation window to the spot where the Citadel had been before their departure. '_Damn it Thea, why do you keep sneaking into my thoughts_.'

Sam was surprised by the Aria's reaction and for a moment didn't know if the asari was toying with her or was being serious. Aria had turned to look out the large window of the room and Sam decided that she was actually serious. "What would you like from the bar?" Sam asked, still hesitant that Aria had other motives.

"Scotch on the rocks, Samantha. Do you usually play for credits or just bragging rights?"

"Why don't we start with bragging rights tonight and by the way, it's Sam."

Sam quickly left to get the drinks and game. Aria looked at her new quarters and shook her head. It had been a few years since she played chess, but she had always done well and actually enjoyed the strategy involved in the game. Aria found herself actually looking forward to the match with the human.

So the first night on board the Normandy, Aria T'Loak spent the evening sparring Samantha Traynor over a lengthy game of chess; the winner of which would be sworn to secrecy.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading, following, or reviewing this story! Special thanks to Bebus for your suggestions, I think I incorporated some of them in this chapter. This is it! The next chapter will start the fight for Omega. I love all of your reviews and PMs, so please keep them coming! I hope you enjoy…_

Chapter 5: Prelude to Omega

08:00 was still a few hours away, but Commander Shepard was up and again reviewing Intel on Omega. She was trying to decipher all the various maps that were on file about the station. It seemed like every time she looked at one, another showed conflicting details about the same district. Her overall impression was that Omega was a giant maze that started at the top of the station and then spiraled its way down to the depths of the mining complex. In fact, some areas of the station were only accessible via shuttle or from the outside and many of the lower levels had been damaged by asteroid collisions or just left to rot.

'_Guess_ t_he condition of the station is a true reflection of its inhabitants_,' Shepard thought.

Despite the criminal association, Shepard could see how Omega was often compared to the Citadel. Both were enormous space stations that were home to millions of inhabitants from all over the galaxy. The difference was that one was seen as the scourge of the galaxy while the other was held up as a pillar of enlightenment.

'_They really aren't much different_,' she thought. '_They're both dangerous and are run by self-serving leaders. The Citadel just comes off as more polished_.'

Either way, Omega was going to be a challenge and she was hoping that between Aria, Garrus and the mercs, that they would be able to have an advantage over the current occupants.

'_I can't believe that this whole operation is dependent on Aria T'Loak and the various merc groups working together_,' Shepard thought. '_I hope that Aria really does know all the ins-and-outs of Omega_ _or this could be a short mission_.'

Shepard rubbed her eyes and looked over at the sleeping form of Liara. '_How did I manage to get so lucky_?'

Liara looked peaceful and content snuggled in Shepard's bed, a contrast to the same person that had been sobbing and helpless only a few days ago. It deeply hurt Shepard to think of Thessia, her failure to obtain the Prothean information and how the loss of the planet was affecting Liara. Her own feelings of guilt made her want to engage Cerberus that much more. Without thinking, Shepard reached out to brush Liara's cheek. She loved the way her skin felt, the textures and the warmth.

Liara's eyes opened and when she saw Shepard, she smiled. "Is it time?"

"No. I didn't mean to wake you up. I just couldn't help myself."

"Good!" Liara immediately pulled Shepard towards her and drew her into a long and needy kiss. Shepard did not resist, they still had a few more hours after all.

* * *

Aria woke up after her first night on the Normandy. She looked over at the empty spot on her bed and couldn't help but to think of Tevos. She shook her head and looked over her accommodations. Her eyes caught sight of the two empty glasses on the table. Aria thought back to the previous evening and realized that she had actually enjoyed the chess match with Sam. Despite this, something was missing and Aria did not want to admit to herself what or who that something might represent.

"Damn it, I'm not supposed to miss her! She was supposed to be a distraction while I was stuck on the damned Citadel. How the hell did I get myself into this?"

Aria's gaze was drawn to the large observation window and to the view of the stars that were passing by. "At least Shepard gave me a decent room."

Aria had known the Councilor for years and they had developed an unspoken type of friendship between them. Aria had never paid much attention to how attractive Tevos was and it didn't hurt that she was in such a powerful position. A simple favor with C-Sec immigration, a relaxing dinner and then an invitation for drinks had turned into more than either of them expected.

"What am I thinking? The Pirate Queen and the Councilor, we sound like an opera!"

It didn't matter, the feelings were still there and they didn't seem to be going anywhere.

Today they would begin preparations for the retaking of Omega and she wanted to focus on that and not the longing she felt for Tevos. It had been far too long since she had been on Omega and she was not sure what she would find. She threw on her clothes and quickly decided to head to the conference room by way of the mess hall.

Samantha, Liara and Ashley were all in the mess hall picking over assorted options for breakfast. Liara was getting breakfast for herself and Shepard and was separated from the other two women, but listening to their conversation.

* * *

"I can't believe that you spent the evening with Aria T'Loak and expect me to believe that all you two did was play chess together?" Ashley said to a rather embarrassed Comm Specialist. "She must've really shown you some interesting moves!"

Sam was completely flushed as Ashley continued with her teasing.

"Please stop it. We actually had a nice time and she is really very good. Aria has been my most challenging opponent since I left Earth," Sam said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I bet she gave you a challenge," Ashley said without relenting for a minute.

"More of a challenge than you would, Lt. Commander Williams," Aria said in a playful tone, as she walked up to Sam and interlocked Sam's arm with hers.

"Good morning," Aria said nonchalantly and looked over to see Ashley's reaction. "Are you feeling alright Lt. Commander? You are looking a bit pale." Aria turned to address Samantha, "Where can I get something to eat anyway?"

Sam took full advantage of the change in subject and walked over arm-in-arm with Aria to a small kitchen that had fresh fruit and different types of grains laid out, it was also where Liara was standing. "Help yourself to any of these. Liara seems to favor the yogurt and berries and there is juice or coffee."

"Liara, ha… she does have exotic tastes," Aria continued in her playful manner. "Thank you, Sam," Aria replied as she looked over the choices and then up at Liara.

Like Liara, Aria decided to stick with yogurt and berries, since they at least looked relatively fresh. She also grabbed a glass of orange juice before letting Sam's arm go.

"Hello," Liara said, aiming the greeting at Aria. "I wanted to speak with you… if you do not mind."

"Of course, should we go to your office?" Aria asked a bit mischievously.

"No, I was thinking about something you said yesterday. You seem to be under the impression that I am the Shadow Broker. Why?" Liara asked as genuinely as she could.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't find out," Aria almost laughed. "Come now, I have agents all over too and your transition to the position was not, shall we say, without incident. Plus I have 'inside' sources."

"Councilor Tevos," Liara offered.

"Well, that is one of them. Don't worry, I think you make a much more interesting ally," Aria said. "We should be on our way and I bet that Shepard is hungry or are you eating two breakfasts?"

Liara shot her glare, followed by a smile and then they headed off to the elevator that would take them to the conference room.

Ashley shrugged her shoulders and then followed the pair to the elevator too.

Sam was left alone, not sure of how the interaction would leave her reputation. She smiled to herself and decided that it didn't really matter. Friendship with the notorious Aria T'Loak might end up being interesting after all.

* * *

Commander Shepard was hunched over the table in the conference room looking at schematics with Garrus when the trio entered. EDI, Tali and James had already arrived and were also pouring over Intel.

"I think we could dock a shuttle here and work our way up to the main area of Omega," Garrus said, pointing at one of the access points in the lower levels.

Shepard looked over at Aria and made room for her to see what they were discussing.

"That might work… or you might want to use the docking platform over here," Aria said and pointed to what looked like the remnants of a mining station. Everyone in the room looked over to see where Aria was indicating.

Now that Aria had an audience, she continued. "This has not been used since I've been on Omega. It sustained severe damage prior to the addition of the mass effect field, when an asteroid hit the station. The docking area is still somewhat intact and there are tunnels that lead to the heart of Omega. We should be able to get in undetected and shouldn't run into much opposition, well at least not immediately."

EDI then added, "I understand that there are still shuttles going to and from Omega, mostly smugglers and mercs. Cerberus has not stopped all traffic, only limited it to noncritical areas. I think we will be able to take advantage of this."

"Cerberus will not see us coming," Aria said enthusiastically.

The group all exchanged looks, but the consensus was that the plan sounded as solid as they could make it. Shepard also knew that Aria had been quietly sending forces to Omega since she had arrived on the Citadel with the hope of establishing a stronghold. Apparently Aria had been very serious about getting control of Omega back from Cerberus.

Suddenly, Joker's voice came over the comm, "Commander, there is an incoming message for Aria, it's from Eclipse. Should I patch it through?"

"Patch it though, Joker," Shepard replied.

"Greetings, this is Rhetia A'Tia of Eclipse. We are in place and have our forces ready to assist in the efforts against Cerberus. Blood Pack, Blue Suns and Eclipse troops have infiltrated Omega and will be available at the rendezvous point. I also have a squadron of ships standing by ready to assist the Normandy with the Omega-4 Relay. Is everything still set for the attack to commence?"

All eyes looked to Aria. She was wearing a wide grin on her lips and her eyes looked like they could melt a krogan. Commander Shepard nodded and Aria spoke, "Thank you, Rhetia, we will be in position as planned. Normandy will signal you when they are ready and we will meet up with your teams on Omega."

"Excellent, we will be standing by. A'Tia out."

It was Commander Shepard's turn to address the group. "Once we infiltrate Omega, we will likely break up into teams. I'll make that decision once we see how much resistance we meet." The group nodded in unison.

Shepard continued, "The ultimate goal is to quickly overpower Cerberus and regain control of the station, but we also need to be looking for anything that appears to be Reaper tech. The Illusive Man has put a lot of resources into securing Omega and I think that they found something at the Collector base and have moved it to Omega. If we can't secure it, then we need to make sure it's destroyed. Are there any questions?"

"Any idea on what Cerberus found?" Garrus asked.

Shepard shook her head, "No idea, but after learning about the Adjutants, it could be anything. We will really need to be on our toes. Cerberus is not going to go quietly and I want to take them by surprise for a change. All right everyone, we should be at Omega in a few hours, make sure you are all prepared," she said authoritatively.

Shepard directed her gaze to Ashley, "Ash, I want you to take command of the Normandy for this mission. I would feel much better with you, EDI and Joker leading the charge on the Omega-4 Relay."

"Aye- aye, Commander," Ashley enthusiastically replied.

"Dismissed," Shepard said. Everyone started filing out to go make preparations. Aria and Liara stayed in the conference room with Shepard.

Shepard looked over at Liara, "Liara, I need to know if you have anything else on Omega? Have any of your agents reported anything abnormal or that might shed some light on what Cerberus is up to?"

"I think you already know that Cerberus is evacuating the human population to a place called Sanctuary. It does not appear that any other species are having the same treatment. Not much has been heard from the majority of the population of Omega, but Cerberus is tightly controlling all communications. My agents have not been able to report much," Liara replied.

"Thank you, Liara. Well I guess I should report to Admiral Hackett and the Council. You both better go get ready," Shepard said as she started walking towards the door.

Before Shepard could reach the door though, Aria spoke up, "Shepard, would you mind if I spoke to the Council too? Specialist Traynor indicated that the Normandy has a quantum entanglement communications room…"

"I'm sure that Tevos would like to hear from you Aria. I will let you know when I am done with Hackett. You can save me a call and update the council for me," Shepard said supportively. "Wait in here, it shouldn't be too long."

"Why would you think that I want to talk to Councilor Tevos?" Aria asked as innocently as possible.

Shepard almost laughed. "You do know that I'm sleeping with the Shadow Broker?"

"Yeah right, of course Liara knows about Tevos. Well I guess I should thank you," Aria said as Shepard headed off to the comm room, still looking amused.

* * *

Aria paced back-and-forth in the conference room. The realization that Tevos had become more than just stress relief was still bothering her. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say to Tevos, but she knew that she wanted to talk to her before landing on Omega. Aria needed some kind of closure before she faced Cerberus and she was going to make sure that she got it.

Shepard finished her report to Admiral Hackett and then signaled for Aria to join her in the comm room.

"I will give you some privacy, Aria. Just don't forget to update the Councilor on the mission too," Shepard said as she left the room.

Aria stared at the display panel, holding her hand just over the button that would signal the call to Councilor Tevos. She exhaled and then made the call. Tevos appeared on the screen, looking every bit the diplomat. "Greetings Aria, I trust your mission is going well."

'_She is going to make this hard_,' Aria thought. "We are making our final preparations to land on Omega and then the fun will begin."

The Councilor smiled slightly, "You have an interesting idea of what fun is, you know?"

"I found you fun, Thea," Aria said and returned the smile.

Thea seemed to drop her guard a bit. "It has been quite boring since you left the Citadel," Tevos paused and looked down.

She continued, "I am finding it hard to sleep fully. Aria, please be careful. I know you are dangerous and powerful, but Cerberus is evil. They are not going to want to give up their resources and they will know that you want to strike back at them. Try not to lose control and trust Shepard."

"I miss you too, Thea," Aria said with more emotion than she wanted to show. "But thanks for caring."

Aria's normal bravado came back and she confidently said, "Mark my words, I will take back Omega and kick Cerberus back through the Omega-4 Relay!" She was hoping to convince Thea and knew that she meant every word that she had said.

Tevos looked directly at Aria, her face betrayed her emotions. "I hope you are right, I have had to grieve for too many already."

"We are almost at Omega. Don't worry, Thea… you aren't getting rid of me that easily. I will contact you once I have my home back. Our next date will be on Omega," Aria said and flashed a cocky smile.

"I will hold you to that date Aria," Thea said. "Good luck."

With that, Tevos ended the call and Aria left to make ready for the invasion.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Here is a little background about my Shepard: Adept / Paragon / Liara is her one & only. Also, I am treating Aria as a combination Adept / Vanguard – so she will favor biotic attacks, but will also have a pistol. Thanks for reading and I love all the feedback, so please keep it coming!_

Chapter 6: Omega

"Commander," Joker called out over the comm.

"Go ahead Joker," Shepard replied from Liara's quarters.

"We are about to pass through the Omega 2 Relay and will be entering the Sahrabarik System. We should be at U-71 in about 2 hours."

"Thank you, Joker. Please notify everyone to be ready," Shepard said calmly.

Liara looked over at Shepard and could tell that Shepard's thoughts were still working out a plan for the mission. She had been quiet since the morning meeting and continued to review maps of Omega. "We will be ready," Liara offered and reached out to lightly squeeze her hand.

"We better be… I can't even think what kind of weapon Cerberus has and Omega seems like a giant trap," Shepard said distractedly. "I know that I can count on you, Liara… it's just all the unknowns. Speaking of which, do you have any information on U-71?"

"I believe so…" Liara punched a button on her terminal and a large map appeared on her screen showing the Sahrabarik System.

The computer read off an entry that Liara highlighted. "In addition to Omega, there are three planets in the Sahrabarik System: Urdak, Imorkan and Bindar. Urdak is the closest planet to the sun and U-71 is one of the more than 210 moons orbiting it."

Liara continued to scroll on her terminal and found additional data. "There is a small base there that is currently used by the Blood Pack for smuggling weapons and element zero to and from Omega. It is controlled by a krogan named Ganar Drace. Drace is from Clan Ganar, the same clan that founded the Blood Pack."

"Good to know who we are dealing with… thanks," Shepard said. "Well, we should probably head down to the shuttle bay and get ready."

Liara shook her head in agreement, while exiting out of her terminal. Shepard watched as the screen went blank and wondered how Drace would receive their party. _Nothing we can do about it now_, she thought. Shepard shot Liara a smile and offered her arm to the asari as they headed out together.

* * *

The shuttle bay was teaming with people hurrying to make ready for the mission. When Shepard arrived, most of the team was there to greet her, including Aria. Shepard almost did not recognize her. Aria was dressed in full armor that had obviously been custom made to fit her form perfectly and donned a Carnifex pistol that also appeared to be modified. Her armor was dark crimson with black highlights and she was very striking in it. The armor seemed to be of a light construction because it allowed Aria a full range of motion, but it also looked more durable than any light armor Shepard had seen.

Aria noticed Shepard looking her over and could not help but to make a playful comment, "Enjoying the view? You know… it pays to be on the Serrice Council board, as a silent member of course… you get all kinds of perks."

"Just make sure you're ready Aria. I would hate to see that pretty armor get scratched," Shepard said in an equally teasing tone.

Shepard and Liara made their way to the weapons locker and started donning their armor as well. Liara picked up her Tempest SMG and Paladin pistol and secured them to her armor. Shepard meanwhile equipped herself with her favorite Black Widow sniper rifle and an Avenger assault rifle. She looked over her team, Liara, Garrus, Tali, James and Aria and decided that they were ready to go.

They boarded the Kodiak shuttle that would take them to the rendezvous point on the moon below.

"We're about to land, Commander," Steve Cortez called back to Shepard. "Looks like there is a welcoming party to meet you all."

Shepard wasn't surprised to see a small group of vorcha waiting on the docking pad for them to land. One had a varrin chained next to it, looking like it was ready to attack. There was no evidence of Drace.

"Drace's number two goes by Hiss," Aria said. "He thinks it makes him sound dangerous."

The group disembarked while Aria and Shepard headed over to Hiss and his minions.

"Aria T'Loak, Commander Shepard," Hiss croaked out. _He definitely earned his name_, Shepard thought. "Ganar Drace inside… others here already… follow."

Hiss led the group to an entrance on the side of the base. The base itself was not much to look at, a series of warehouses with a central structure. Shepard did notice a relatively advanced communications hub on top of what appeared to be the control room.

They entered the building and could hear voices echoing through one of the warehouses ahead of them, it was also the direction that Hiss was leading them towards. The hall they were travelling was full of all sorts of debris, crates and weapon pieces. In front of them was a large double door that opened into an enormous warehouse with multiple levels, some appeared to descend miles into the moon's surface. Shepard could see a least a dozen people below. The group was made up of a mix of asari, vorcha and krogan. They went down a row of metal stairs and were greeted by a very large and battle scared krogan.

Aria was the first to speak, "Ganar Drace, I haven't seen your ugly face in a long time, but I see you still have my scar… I like the new place, it's a step up from the slag pit you had on Omega."

"Aah… Aria, a visit from you is as pleasant as a kick to the quads," Drace answered in a deep and powerful voice. "I hear you are going to take on those fools currently running Omega. The place hasn't been nearly as much fun without you and all those naked asari dancing on poles."

They both broke into wide smiles and laughed. It was obvious that the two of them had quite a history together, but the stories would have to wait.

Drace continued, "So you're going to need a lift to Omega… well I have three shuttles ready for you and your team. Rhetia A'Tia of Eclipse has her shuttle and about a dozen of her people ready to go. I can spare Hiss and some of my men. Doesn't look like you need any weapons," he said as he looked over the well armed team.

"Before you leave, I understand that you have a celebrity with you… I want to meet the mighty Commander Shepard," Drace said.

Shepard stepped forward, bracing herself for whatever the krogan was going to do or say. Drace approached the human and embraced her in the krogan form of a bear hug. "I am going to be a father because of you!" Drace said and put Shepard down. "You are a true friend to my clan, Shepard."

Shepard was taken by surprise and flushed slightly, "Congratulations… glad I could help!" she choked out. "You should've seen Kalros take out the Reaper! It was an amazing sight. As for the genophage, it's been too long and the krogan deserved better."

"I hate to break this love fest up, but Omega is waiting," Aria said enthusiastically. "Eclipse looks like they are ready to go and I certainly am eager to destroy Cerberus and get Omega back."

Drace turned to face Aria, "So we have a deal then, Aria," he said in very business-like tone.

"Yes, you will reclaim your territory and warehouses in Kenzo district and partial control of Kima district… and I will collect my usual fee," Aria replied.

"Agreed… good hunting," Drace said.

The team headed to the shuttles that were docked in the warehouse. Eclipse troops had been standing by their shuttle and were waiting for everyone to settle in. The Blood Pack troops, composed mostly of vorcha and krogan boarded two of the remaining shuttles. This left one shuttle for Aria and the Normandy crew. Shepard nodded her thanks to Drace and they headed for their shuttle and on to Omega.

* * *

Aria could see Omega growing closer in the distance and her excitement was noticeable to everyone around her. Their shuttle, along with the Eclipse one would dock at the mining entrance that Aria had marked in one of the lower districts of Omega. If the shuttles were flagged by Omega Control, they would appear to be smugglers looking for element zero (eezo). Most likely though, shuttles as small as theirs would go unnoticed. Meanwhile, the Blood Pack teams would land on other docking areas in the upper district and would meet up with the troops that were already in place. They would all work toward retaking Omega Control and eliminating any Cerberus resistance that they would come across.

As they suspected, Omega Control barely paid any attention to the shuttles and they were able to dock without incident. Aria had been correct about the state of the mining tunnel. The facility had been abandoned and rotting for so long, that it was not even given a proper name and only went by District E-16. They disembarked and met up with Rhetia A'Tia and the Eclipse troops. Since the facility had been compromised and did not have an atmosphere, they were all wearing their helmets. Even through their air filters, they could all smell and taste the strong stench of the mine and the partially processed, deteriorating element zero.

"Commander Shepard, Aria… I am Rhetia A'Tia," an asari wearing standard yellow and black Eclipse armor said as she approached the duo. "It is good to meet you both. We understand what we need to do and my team is eager to get moving."

"I think we all are," Aria answered. She drew her pistol and equipped it with incendiary ammo. "Once we get to the interior of the mine, we should have Omega's atmosphere back. Follow me!"

Aria took the lead and quickly, but cautiously started navigating the wreckage and decay of the mine.

Shepard looked over at her team, they too had their weapons drawn and sufficiently equipped. She also could tell that Liara's biotic barrier was active, as was her own. She gripped her assault rifle and followed Aria in. It was quiet and dead, there was no evidence that any living thing had been here in years. Still, something made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Tali did a sweep of the mine with her Omni-tool, "I'm not picking anything up down here, Commander… but something just isn't right," the quarian said uneasily. To help ease her nerves, Tali released a defensive drone to help monitor the area.

"Agreed, stay sharp everyone," Shepard said. "Let's go."

* * *

They had been steadily hiking for over an hour and were moving at a good pace. There was still no sign of Cerberus… or anything living for that matter. There had been a few times when the ground had given out beneath them or debris from the walls fell, but so far the group had been incident free.

Static crackled through their communicators and Hiss's voice cried out. "They're everywhere… We not able to stop them… Never seen before…" A large explosion was heard and then the comm chatter was quiet.

They had all heard the cryptic message. Radio silence was supposed to be maintained until they had met up at the rendezvous point in Gozu district. Obviously, something had gone wrong.

"That did not sound good," Garrus chimed in.

Aria tried to raise Hiss on the comm line, but had no luck getting through. "Damn it… Keep moving everyone." Aria looked as frustrated as the rest felt. They continued on until they saw what looked like an eezo processing complex. It too looked abandoned, but it did seem to have some kind of power feeding it.

One of the Eclipse mercs took point from Aria. She raised her weapon, readied her biotics and went to open the door leading to the interior of the building. When the door opened, a blast sent her reeling backwards. Everyone pointed their weapons at the door, waiting for troops to follow through, but there was nothing. A'Tia went to check on the merc; luckily she was only shaken and suffered a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious.

The Eclipse team swept in to look for any other bombs. When they entered, they found red-orange blood sprayed all over and pools of congealing blood from the remains of what looked like batarian miners. "Commander, you better get in here and see this," one of the mercs called out. They continued the bomb sweep and quickly found and disarmed two others that had also been placed around exits.

Shepard's team entered the building and started to scan the remains to try and make sense of what happened. "They appear to have been shredded," Liara said uneasily. "Look at the large gashes in the walls and on the door. There are also spots of black, oily liquid all over… my Omni-tool is not able to discern what it came from. Shepard, do you think this could be something influenced by the Reapers?"

"I don't know, Liara… and I don't like it," Shepard replied while looking over the scene.

"There is an elevator that will take us out of here and then we should be able to make our way to the Gozo district," Aria offered. "Assuming that it's still working that is..."

Aria cautiously continued through the building until she arrived at a large elevator that was obviously made to transport trucks of eezo up to other areas of Omega. The elevator looked sturdy and according to Tali was operational and empty. They would all be able to get up, but it would take two trips.

Aria, Rhetia and half of the Eclipse mercs started to board the elevator when a high pitched squeal came out from behind Shepard and her squad. Before they could react, two pale, well muscled creatures with red eyes and long, pointy rows of teeth flung themselves at them. The creatures had bluish tech lines running through their bodies resembling a husk and their hands had been modified into sharp talons. _They almost look like vorcha, only with Reaper tech_, Shepard thought. The creatures had cut one of the Eclipse mercs in half, but in doing so allowed the others to open fire.

Without thinking, Shepard pushed Liara into the elevator with Aria, "Go, we'll take care of these! Just make sure you send the car back for us."

She then focused her biotics on the nearest creature and released a singularity field on it. Not allowing the creature time to break free, an Eclipse merc sent a warp field into the singularity, causing it to explode. The creature was stunned and appeared to be bleeding the same black fluid they saw earlier, but it was still capable of fighting.

James, Garrus and Tali were working on immobilizing the second creature. Garrus was aiming concussive shots, while James was tossing frag grenades at it. Shepard also caught sight of Chiktikka vas Paus, Tali's combat drone firing at the creature while Tali unloaded her shotgun into it.

Shepard and the remaining Eclipse mercs continued their combination of biotic assaults and firing their weapons to finally bring the thing down. When both creatures had been killed, they saw that a total of three mercs had been killed by the things. Shepard was inwardly relieved that her squad had not taken any injuries.

"What the hell were those things?" Garrus said to no one in particular. "They look like something out of a vorcha's nightmare."

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that they won't be the last we see of them," Shepard replied. "We should get going and meet up with the rest of the team."

"Shepard," it was Liara on the comm line and she sounded scared. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, we are on our way up," Shepard said as reassuringly as she could. "We lost three of Rhetia's people to those things."

"We had to keep moving. There are more of the creatures up here too," Liara said breathlessly. "We were able to disable them, but we are nowhere near the elevator. Aria has lead us to a warehouse… there are also Cerberus troops and they do not look right either."

"Hang on, Liara… we are on our way." Shepard directed the conversation back to her team, "Watch out everyone, there are more of them waiting. We will also have Cerberus to deal with."

When they stepped out of the elevator, they were ready to fight. All weapons were drawn and were trained on anything that moved. They found three wounded creatures and quickly dispersed of them and then focused on the four that were charging towards them. Again, they all worked as a team using a combination of biotics and conventional weapons to bring them down and were able to advance past the elevator.

* * *

They had arrived at an area of Omega comprised mostly of slums and warehouses. Shepard could see weapons fire in the distance and thought that looked to be the most promising direction.

"Liara, we made to the warehouses… do you know which one you are in?" Shepard asked.

"The one surrounded by Cerberus," Aria shot back.

Cerberus had not yet noticed the other group advancing on them. Shepard quickly scanned over the area, looking for a way to take them by surprise. "Garrus, I think it's time for target practice," she said with a grin and pointed to ladder leading up to the rooftops. Garrus took her meaning instantly and began climbing. "Tali go with Garrus and be ready with your drone. You there," Shepard pointed at a young looking asari that was holding a sniper rifle, "Do you know how to use that?"

"Absolutely and the name is Shaya," the girl eagerly replied back.

"Shaya, head up there with Garrus and follow his lead," she said, the girl was almost at the top by time she got her last word out.

"James and the rest of you, with me," Shepard said while climbing up to the top of another roof.

They all took their positions and were able to get a clear line of sight at the Cerberus troops below. There appeared to be about sixty of them, half were focused on shooting into one warehouse and the other half looked like they were crouched around another. Shepard signaled to take out the ones shooting first.

She spoke into her comm channel, "We are in position, stay put." Shepard then looked through the scope of her rifle and aimed for the head of a Cerberus troop. Even with his helmet on, Shepard knew her rifle was powerful enough to take him out with a single shot and squeezed the trigger. The others followed suit.

They had cut down the Cerberus troops quickly and now Shepard focused on the other troops. When she looked through her scope, her heart sank and her blood went cold… they were planting explosives around the warehouse. Liara, Aria and the rest would be trapped inside. She screamed into the comm, "Liara, get out of…"

There was a large explosion and the warehouse was blown to pieces. Giant fireballs exploded from the windows and the roof fell into itself.

There was no answer from either Liara or Aria…


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger, but I couldn't resist! This one is not too bad, I hope. Thanks for reading!_

Chapter 7: Devastation

After their encounter with the creatures, Aria, Liara and the Eclipse team sought shelter in one of the many warehouses in the district. However, they did not see that Cerberus had started surrounding the front entrance until it was too late. When they were able to look around and assess their situation, they were horrified to find corpses of various races piled in a heap and rotting and Cerberus blocking their escape. The stench from the bodies was almost unbearable. It looked like the victims had been rounded up, bound with collars and then shot from above. The absence of any human corpses was most notable.

"I'm not getting stuck in here," Aria barked at the group. "We are going to take on those Cerberus bastards and anything else that comes at us!"

"Do you think it is wise to engage them? Shepard and the others will be here momentarily," Liara attempted to point out, while trying desperately not to gag.

"She can catch up. I'm not waiting in here any longer than necessary. Besides, look at them out there, half of them are preoccupied and the rest we can take." Aria's biotics were still flaring from their recent encounter with the creatures and Liara could tell that she eagerly wanted to engage Cerberus too.

Liara was still a bit shaken from Shepard forcing her into the elevator, Aria's overly aggressive instincts and the horror of the scene they had stumbled into. _Why did you push me away_, she thought.

The comm channel activated, it was Shepard "Liara, we made it to the warehouses… do you know which one you are in?"

"The one surrounded by Cerberus," Aria shot back.

Aria looked around the building and saw a possible exit. There was a small door on the far side of the room they were in and it looked like it led outside. She pointed to the door and the group made their way to the exit.

Aria and Liara scanned the potential exit; there were only a few Cerberus troops. Aria nodded to the group and they moved on them quickly. Liara started the attack with a singularity and Aria followed up with perfectly placed shockwaves. Rhetia and her remaining forces finished with a few warp fields for good measure. When they were done, the troops had been partially incinerated or blown apart. Aria looked satisfied with their work.

The group slipped out and headed away from the warehouse.

Shepard was on the comm again, "We are in position, stay put." None of them answered, as another of the creatures was moving in on them. While the group trained their own weapons and biotics on the advancing creature, weapons fire was heard in the background.

"Liara, get out of…" Shepard sounded desperate over the comm.

The explosion was deafening and they could feel the warmth from the blast as it took down the warehouse that had been across from them. The creature did not stop for the explosion though. Instead, it easily pulled apart an unsuspecting Eclipse merc that had stopped to look at the explosion.

Liara reacted quickly to the beast and placed a stasis bubble around it. Out of the corner for her eye, Liara saw Rhetia's biotics flare as she sent a warp field to ignite the stasis bubble. Aria was quick with her own biotics and the creature collapsed, its skin was partially melted from the attack and black blood was pooling under it.

"I cannot get Shepard on the comm," Liara said with concern in her voice.

"She's fine… do you hear the gunfire back there? That 's your girlfriend and her team finishing off those Cerberus bastards," Aria said emphatically.

The group was down to five now, Aria, Liara, Rhetia and two Eclipse mercs.

"Come on, we need to get out of this district. We can take that tunnel to the residential section and see about getting access to a computer," Aria instructed while pointing towards a large staircase that seemed to curve around and stopped at a dark entrance way. "Maybe we can even get some information out of the residents. I bet they have had it with Cerberus and all those damn creatures lurking around." Aria continued, "They will probably be eager to help us out."

"What about Shepard?" Liara pressed. She didn't want Aria to see just how concerned she was for her lover.

"Do you see those bodies behind us? All she needs to do is follow the carnage," Aria said with a smile. They cautiously headed for the tunnel.

* * *

Shepard felt sick-to-her stomach and panic washed over her. She wanted to jump down from the roof and into the smoldering warehouse. Her mind was racing, _No! Not Liara… no… need to get to her…_

She looked down and saw movement, there were more Cerberus troops and they were looking directly at her. On pure instinct and adrenaline, Shepard took aim. Time seemed to slow down and she fired. The first shot hit the trooper in his temple with such force that it looked like his brain exploded. She was quick to focus on the next target and fired. She continued the ritual until she had to reload. All around her, her team followed suit. She did not think, just mechanically aimed and fired until there was nothing left to hit.

_Must get to her_… She climbed down the ladder and ran as fast as she could to the remains of the warehouse. She quickly finished off any troops that crossed her path with her assault rifle or her biotics. When she reached the warehouse, the flames were so hot that she could barely approach it. She could see that explosives had successfully brought the whole complex in on itself and that there would be nothing left. _Not Liara!_

When Garrus and Tali approached and tried to comfort her, she shoved them both away. _Why did I push her in the elevator? Why…_

"Shepard, we have to move. Cerberus is going to send more troops here. There is nothing we can do," Garrus said, trying to get Shepard to focus on their current predicament.

"Commander, the comms are down," Tali said urgently.

"I know that Tali," Shepard snapped back.

"No Commander, all the comms are down. They went down at the same time as the blast. Are you sure that they were in that warehouse?" Tali asked trying to offer her friend some hope.

"We should check the other warehouse, the one that Cerberus was shooting up," James offered.

Shepard was running in the direction of the warehouse before she even realized she was moving, "Move it people," she called and did not look back to make sure the group was following her.

* * *

Considering what they had run into recently, Aria and the rest were surprised by the complete lack of resistance. They did not encounter any troops, creatures or residents of the district. There was plenty of debris scattered around though, as if people had hastily left the area and in great numbers.

The team reached the Sheala district of Omega, another slum composed of apartments, makeshift stores and various seedy establishments. It had been home to mostly batarians, turians and humans, but it currently looked deserted. They continued through, looking for something or someone that could tell them what was going on.

Someone spoke from the shadows, "Is that Aria T'Loak?"

"Shh… they'll find us. That can't be Aria, she left us here to rot," came another voice.

"No, look… it's her," said the first voice.

"I did not leave anyone to rot… now show yourselves," Aria commanded. Two batarians stepped out and stood before Aria, both looked young and frightened. "What happened here," she continued, but with a softer tone to her voice.

"Cerberus came… all the humans were taken to transports and left Omega," the batarians were obviously traumatized by what they had seen and seemed hesitant, but continued. "The rest of us were rounded up… they put some kind of collar on everyone and started injecting them with something. It made them change and turn into monsters…"

"What," Liara gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "They intentionally indoctrinated people?"

"Once they had the collars on, they would do whatever Cerberus wanted," the other batarian spoke. "All but the vorcha… they shredded their collars when they turned and went crazy. They ripped the Cerberus troops to pieces, along with anything else."

"Well, now we know what those things are and why it has been so quiet," Rhetia said. "What is our plan?"

Aria addressed the batarians, "Are there more of you?"

"Yes, we have been hiding out in the store over there… there are about 30 of us all together… Cerberus hasn't been back here since," the first batarian said.

"Take me there," Aria said.

The two batarians looked at each other and nodded. They started walking toward a rundown looking shop that also doubled as a restaurant & bar. When they stepped inside, it looked completely ransacked and abandoned. The first batarian whistled and slowly, a mish-mash of batarians and turians started appearing. "It's Aria," could be heard whispered throughout the crowd.

Aria stepped forward, looking exceptionally regal, "You're damn right it's Aria… I'm here to take back what's mine… nobody fucks with Aria or Omega!" She said with all the charisma and confidence that she was famous for and the crowd ate it up. "Do you have weapons?"

"We found a stash that belonged to Cerberus. There were all sorts of weapons in it and we helped ourselves in case they came back. No one is fitting me with one of those collars," a turian declared.

"Alright then, grab your weapons and follow us. We are heading for Gozu district and then Omega Control. I'll need all of you to fight with me… can I count on you?" Aria asked the crowd and she was met with a united cheer.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard coming toward them. The group drew their weapons and the asari all glowed with the flare of biotics. "On my mark," Aria said as the intruders entered their line of fire.

"Stop!" Liara screamed at the top of her voice, while racing to embrace the advancing human.

Shepard opened her arms to accept her lover into her embrace. "I am so sorry Liara… I saw the explosions… are you alright?" Shepard asked and pulled Liara closer to kiss her and check to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Liara held Shepard tightly and returned the affection. "I am okay… do not ever push me away again!"

"It was instinct… I thought I was protecting you. I'm sorry," Shepard whispered to Liara. "I won't do that again… I promise."

"This is very touching and I am enjoying the show, but we need to get out of here," Aria interrupted and approached the couple. "We know what Cerberus has been doing and we need to stop them… now!"

"Agreed, what's your plan?" Shepard said. "And what's Cerberus doing? That was quite a body count you all left behind."

"We needed to make sure that you could find us," Aria answered coolly. "They shipped out the human population and are rounding up everyone else, placing some kind of collar on them and then injecting them with something that mutates them into those creatures. It sounds like they are trying to control them once they mutate… the vorcha had other plans for them though."

"That's sick and twisted. I didn't think that the Illusive Man would be worse than the Reapers," Shepard said as she shook her head in disgust.

Tali chimed in, "If we can find a computer terminal, I can hack it and find out exactly what is going on."

One of the refugees approached them, "We've been trying to hack the terminals for the past few weeks, but nothing is working. Cerberus has managed to cut us off completely."

Aria spoke up, "Let's get moving then. Maybe some of my forces made it to the rendezvous point in Gozu district. There will be lots of computer access points there and Omega Clinic."

* * *

On the way to Gozu district, Liara filled in Shepard and her friends on the horrors that she had seen in the warehouse. It still made Liara feel sick when she thought of the callous way in which Cerberus was using the people of Omega. It also made her appreciate and respect Aria a bit more for standing up to them. The woman seemed so cocky and controlling, but it was obvious that she was deeper than her façade and bravado. Aria was Omega and what was done here was done to her.

"Why do you think they were executing them? Garrus asked. "It seems like a lot of trouble to go through, just to execute people."

Shepard was quick to respond, "Nothing Cerberus is doing makes any sense. Maybe they couldn't control them or maybe they were just testing their newest weapon? I can't even try to understand their motives. Whatever the reason, we need to stop them and find out what they plan to do after Omega."

The group came to a sudden halt. Explosions were going off in the direction of their destination, followed by screaming and weapons fire. Aria was ready and she charged ahead, knowing her team would follow.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thank you to everyone that is continuing to follow along with this story. I really love the feedback that you all have given, please keep it coming! Hope you enjoy…_

Chapter 8: Zenith Station

Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams stood front and center on the deck of the CIC overlooking the galaxy map. It was her first time leading a mission on the Normandy and she felt eager to prove herself, both to the crew and Commander Shepard.

So far, things had gone smoothly. The Normandy had successfully delivered Shepard and the away team to the moon base. They were now on course for the Omega-4 Relay and were charged with looking for any signs of Cerberus activity. The Omega-4 Relay was a huge unknown, but Cerberus had been using it to try and give themselves some sort of upper hand against everyone in the galaxy. It was to be a recon operation and her orders were to evade direct conflict, if possible. If needed, the merc groups had ships standing by that would assist them; Ashley hoped that they would not be needed.

"LC, we are en route to the Omega-4 Relay, stealth system is engaged and we should be there in about two hours," Joker informed her.

"Thanks," Ashley replied. She looked over at Sam."Are we getting any kind of comms chatter from around the relay?"

"No, Lt. Commander, it is completely silent… there's nothing at all coming from the area," Sam reported. "That isn't normal… there's usually someone or something out there. We are getting faint energy signatures though."

"Any idea on what's going on?" Ashley asked Sam.

"Sorry, but no," Traynor answered. "It's almost like there are no ships out there or that something is causing a very large dampening field around the relay. Either option is concerning," Sam said, concentrating on all the data going across her screen.

"Keep me informed," she said to Traynor and Sam nodded her reply.

"LC, we are picking up all kinds of debris around the relay," Joker reported excitedly. "There's also something very large on the scanners… it almost looks like some type of space station. It's no way near the size of Omega, but I can tell you it wasn't there the last time we 'visited' the Omega-4 Relay."

Sam looked up, suddenly interested in the conversation with Joker, "A space station would explain a lot, although there should be some sort of communication between Omega and the station."

Ashley was a bit more concerned about the implications of a possible Cerberus station, or worse, around the relay. She wanted to make sure that Shepard got the Normandy back in one piece. "Joker, they can't detect us, right?"

"It is highly unlikely that anyone would be able to detect the Normandy," EDI replied. "We are not emitting a thermal signature and we are not close enough for them to 'see' us coming."

"What about the Collector's ability to detect the Normandy through the stealth field?" Ashley asked. "Does Cerberus have that kind of technology?"

"No, Lt. Commander, Cerberus is not capable of detecting the Normandy while stealth is active," EDI reassured her. "As for the Collector's, after our last encounter with them, I have been able to study their technology and compensate for it… Do not fear Lt. Commander, the stealth system is working at maximum capacity," EDI said confidently.

"Well either way, I want everyone ready in case there are problems," Ashley replied.

EDI continued, "Noted, Lt. Commander… the crew is on alert and are at full combat readiness."

From his pilot's seat on the bridge, Joker could see the Omega-4 Relay coming into view. He also noticed all kinds of debris scattered around the area. Something was bothering him about the debris field, the debris was moving but not in any logical way. It was then he noticed the debris was actually shuttles that seemed to just be drifting. Joker had to act quickly to avoid hitting one of the ships. "Shit, shit, shit… what the hell is going on here?"

The source of the unknown object was also easy to make out on the view screen; it was a space station orbiting the relay. The station reminded Joker of the symbol for a hurricane on a weather map. It was comprised of some sort of dark metal and had a circular center. Shooting up from the left side of the center was a spire and an identical one extended down from the right side. Then from the top of the spires was a ring that encircled the circumference of the structure.

As they approached, Joker realized that the ring was actually a very large docking platform that could hold dozens of ships. The station appeared to be in some sort of crisis mode, as the lights radiating along it were all intermittently flashing, indicating some sort of power surge. Some of the docking platforms also had all sorts of smoke and flames emitting from it and it was apparent that multiple ships had crashed into the structure.

"LC, you need to get up here and see this," Joker called out over the comm. "EDI, is there any sign of combat or any approaching ships?"

"No, Jeff. All the ships in the area seem to be disabled or destroyed. The station also appears to be in an equal state of disarray; however, there are intermittent life signs," EDI replied.

"What's going on, Joker?" Ashley said as she walked onto the bridge.

"Take a look… nothing here is making any sense," Joker replied.

"That is one ugly space station," Ashley noted. "What happened here?" She pointed to the drifting ships and damage to the station. "Are there any detectable threats to the Normandy?"

EDI answered, "Unknown for now, Lt. Commander. There does appear to be life signs on the station and the docking rings on the lower level seem to be intact. We could send over a shuttle to board the station and investigate. I would advise against docking the Normandy until we have established what happened."

Ashley considered EDI's recommendation, "Okay, sounds reasonable. EDI, I will want you with me when we board the station. Please notify Lt. Cortez to get the shuttle ready."

"Lt. Commander, I would also recommend having Specialist Samantha Traynor join us. She could be very helpful in deciphering any comms traffic and she is very adept at interpreting any data we might find," EDI added.

"Noted EDI, I will let her know… I better get ready too. See you in the shuttle bay in 15 minutes." Ashley said as she turned and headed back to the galaxy map and Traynor.

When Ashley approached her, Sam was busy at her station reviewing something on her screen. "Sam, you are with me on this one."

"Excuse me Lt. Commander, but do you actually want me to go with you to the space station?" Sam asked, excitement oozing from her voice.

Ashley smiled coyly at her, "Anyone that can go toe-to-toe with Aria T'Loak can handle a little recon mission on a space station. Besides, EDI thinks having you there would be helpful… who am I to argue. We are meeting in the shuttle bay in 15 minutes."

"Yes, Lt. Commander… I will be ready. I hate to ask, but I don't have any proper weapons," Sam said sheepishly. "This is my first time on an actual mission off the Normandy. I won't need to disarm a bomb or anything, will I?"

Ashley smiled at Sam, "Don't worry… I have the perfect thing for you Traynor! See you in 15," and she headed for the lift.

* * *

Sam rushed down to the shuttle bay in an attempt to find some standard issue armor that would fit her. Luckily, Cortez already had the shuttle prepped and he was able to help get her setup.

"What about a weapon?" Cortez asked.

Ashley strutted onto the deck, "Don't worry, I've got her covered!" She had a teasing tone to her voice and a large grin on her face, as she presented Traynor with her weapon, an N7 Eagle heavy pistol. "Congratulations Traynor, you're one of us now."

Sam took the pistol and looked it over; she was wearing a huge smile. "Thank you, Lt. Commander. Guess I'm all ready now."

Ashley slapped her on the back and turned toward the shuttle. "Let's get this mission started! Is everything ready Cortez?"

Cortez didn't hesitate, "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

They all boarded and Lt. Steve Cortez skillfully piloted the Kodiak shuttle over to the space station. At EDI's request, they circled it once to check for any indication that it had been fired on. There was noticeable damage and the power inside seemed to be fluctuating, but there were no obvious signs of combat. The damage came from the various shuttles that had crashed into the docking ring.

"Get ready everyone and be on the lookout for Cerberus or Reaper tech," Ashley said to her team.

Cortez announced, "We are docked… and you all are clear to depart… happy hunting, Lt. Commander."

Ashley was eager to get on with the mission, "Alright everyone, move out."

The docking bay that Cortez had selected appeared to be intact and undamaged. However, the power to the space station was flashing off and on and they could smell the scent of an electrical fire burning somewhere. EDI directed the team toward a lift that would hopefully take them to the Control Room. They arrived in a large room that was bare and looked like a quarantine area. A computer voice was repeating 'Welcome to Zenith Station… Do not be afraid… Our greeters will help you acclimate… Please stay calm and keep moving… Thank you.' They continued following a centralized hallway until it came to an elevator. EDI quickly hacked the access pad.

"This is very strange," EDI noted. "It appears that the floors are separated by species. According to the computer, asari, turian, salarian and volus occupy the upper levels, while vorcha, krogan and batarian are on the lower levels. I do not see that there is a floor designated for human."

Ashley looked at Traynor and frowned. "That doesn't sound inviting. Let's hope we find some answers soon."

The team boarded the elevator and EDI programmed it for the Control Room. They all drew their weapons and were ready to meet resistance when the doors opened. To their surprise, there were no signs of life. Instead, they found scattered corpses of what appeared to be Cerberus personnel. All-in-all, the station looked abandoned.

Ashley bent over one the bodies to examine it closer, "This looks fresh… and there aren't any signs of trauma. I don't like this… we should keep moving."

As the group continued to the interior of the station, they noticed that there were many security doors and precautions to pass through. After much hacking, they finally made it to the Control Room. When they entered, they were shocked to find a lot more dead Cerberus personnel throughout. Again, there were no indications of any trauma or fighting, just corpses.

Ashley looked over at Sam, she had seen many corpses in her time in the Alliance, but she was pretty sure that Sam hadn't. "How are you holding up?"

"I am okay," Sam's voice sounded a bit shaky. "I would rather be analyzing some sort of data right now," she added with a nervous laugh.

"Over here," EDI was busy at a computer terminal. "I think that I found some data for you Samantha."

Sam was quick to change her focus to the familiar glare of a computer screen and she began typing frantically on it.

Meanwhile, EDI moved on to another computer and started looking over the readouts.

"Did you find anything?" Ashley asked her companions.

EDI replied immediately, "Yes, this is Zenith Station, a Cerberus science base. It looks like they were manufacturing and testing some new strain of a synthetic virus based on the technology used to create the Adjutants. Cerberus was then attempting to control the indoctrinated 'people' and make them some sort of agents by using control collars."

Ashley was visibly upset with the information and angrily asked, "Have they actually used this new technology yet?"

"Yes… It appears that they have been testing both out on the inhabitants of Omega. Some of the species did not respond well. The asari were perhaps the worst… the virus mutated in the presence of their biotics, causing their brains to hemorrhage, they died almost immediately. While others, like the vorcha mutated faster than Cerberus could control them," EDI continued. "The turians, batarians and salarians were highly susceptible and were therefore targeted. The krogan and volus appeared to be immune to this strain.

"Those sick bastards!" Ashley exclaimed. "How the hell could they begin to justify this?"

Sam chimed in with her own disturbing news, "I have found a reference to something called Project Citadel. This came straight from the Illusive Man to a General Oleg Petrovsky, who is currently overseeing Omega and this station. I also found a transmission instructing Petrovsky to start mutating the virus with the hope of creating something that will work on the krogan and asari."

Ashley was flushed with anger and working hard to keep her emotions in check. _That twisted, evil bastard… How could he possibly think that experimenting with a Reaper virus was a good idea?_ "Do you have any more information on this Project?" Ashley asked, completely disgusted by their findings. "God, I really hope that they weren't able to mutate this… this virus any further."

"Let me see what I can find out. The transmission was highly encrypted, but that is what you brought me along for," Sam answered. "Give me a few minutes."

"EDI, can you find a layout of this station?" Ashley asked. "Also, are there any people left that haven't been experimented on… and any idea on why all the scientists are dead? Are we in any danger of being exposed?"

EDI continued looking at data while she answered Ashley. "It looks like the life-form readings are coming from mutated vorcha that are loose in the station... no other life is indicated. I do not detect any indication that the virus is airborne."

EDI pulled up schematics of the station and pointed out where the vorcha could likely be located. She also found two floors that had their own power and life support systems and appeared isolated and intact. They were on the lowest level of the spire and the temperature was set to -196oC, the perfect environment to store the virus.

"Lt. Commander," Sam said to get Ashley's attention. "The indoctrinated agents were transferred off this station just before we arrived in the sector. There are no records left indicating the exact location of where they were sent, but it looks like they were going to some isolated facility to train for Project Citadel. There is no information on Project Citadel, everything has been expertly erased."

Ashley didn't like the sound of Project Citadel. "Sam, copy all the information that you can and send it to the Normandy. Do we know how many people were taken from Omega and tested on?"

Sam was quiet for a minute and her response was almost hushed, "All humans were evacuated and transferred to Sanctuary… that is roughly 185,000 people. Oh my, more than half of the remaining residence of Omega was tested on… Lt. Commander that's almost 4 million people."

Ashley looked like she was going to be sick. "I really hope that Aria finds him. I can't think of anyone who deserves her fully wrath like that bastard does."

"I believe that I know what happened to the remaining researchers here," EDI said. "Once the agents had been identified and transferred, the top scientists escorted them off the station. The station and all other ships in the area were then set to purge all remaining life and a poisonous gas was released. It killed quickly and then dissipated."

"I think that I have heard enough about Zenith Station. Secure the data and let's get out of here… I need to report this to Admiral Hackett," Ashley said with urgency. "I also need to warn Shepard about this virus… I can only imagine what's left of Omega."

The team finished quickly and headed back to the shuttle; Ashley could not get off the station fast enough.

* * *

Admiral Hackett appeared before Ashley and she offered her full report. It took every amount of control that she had learned through her course in the Alliance to maintain any sort of professionalism, but she did it. "This is very disturbing news, Lt. Commander," Hackett said after listening intently. "What are your recommendations?"

Ashley had thought about her response to the station and the virus. It was too twisted and deadly to remain and it made her sick to think of all those that had been tested on. It confirmed everything that she hated about Cerberus and the Illusive Man. "Sir, I think that we should destroy the station. We can't afford to have this technology or virus fall into the wrong hands… it's too destructive."

"I don't know who the right hands would be," Hackett said to himself. "I agree Williams… it is just too dangerous. Destroy Zenith Station. I will inform the council about this mess. Find Shepard once it's done, she will need to know about this too."

"We'll take care of it immediately, sir!" Ashley said as she saluted her goodbye to the Admiral.

"Joker," Ashley said with full confidence and authority in her voice. "Prepare to fire on Zenith Station. I want it completely leveled. Don't leave anything standing. Then I want you to set course for Omega… any questions?"

"No ma'am," Joker replied, entirely serious for a change. "Normandy is ready to fire at your command, ma'am."

"Fire!"


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you for all of the kind feedback that you have provided, I can't tell you how excited it is to read! Well, it is almost the end of this tale – I think that Chapter 10 will be the finale. If you are enjoying the story, I think that I might have at least one more floating around in my head and yes it will be Aria/Tevos & FemShep/Liara (assuming that everyone makes it)._ _I hope you enjoy and keep sending me those PMs and reviews!_

Chapter 9: Retribution

Omega Clinic was in ruins. Bodies were scattered throughout in various stages of decomposition and the smell was a reminder of the warehouse and its horrors. The residents of Omega had obviously sought refuge in the clinic and were instead met with Cerberus and their sinister plans for them.

Aria did not stop to look at the dead, instead, she focused on Cerberus and making sure that they were added to the number of corpses on Omega. Her barrier was at full strength and she wielded her biotics with such lethality, that she seemed to leave a sonic boom in her wake. Her determination to destroy was insurmountable.

The residents that were left were either being tended to medically or joined the group to fight. Any Cerberus troops that were not taken out by Aria were quickly eliminated by Shepard and her expanding team. As they continued through the Omega Clinic and the Cerberus forces were overrun, "For Omega! For Aria!" became the chant of its population.

Shepard had been trying to keep up with Aria, but found that the continued biotic charges, singularities and warp fields to be overwhelming. Instead, she focused her attention on Liara and her team. Shaya and Rhetia had also joined her efforts to sweep up all the mess left in the aftermath of the raging force that was Aria.

From the chaos of the clinic, Shepard could hear a familiar voice cry out, "Not take me… I kill you!" Hiss was using a flame thrower to keep a mutated vorcha at bay. Hiss was also being helped by a very upset looking krogan that was covered in the black blood of the creature_. He kind of reminds me of Grunt and the rachni,_ Shepard smiled at the thought.

"Shepard, you late," Hiss said as he finished off the creature. "Blood Pack kept word… we kill creatures and Cerberus."

Shepard wasn't sure, but she thought that Hiss almost sounded happy. "We had a bit of a distraction," she said and motioned to the fallen troops behind them.

"Yes, you kill good too!" Hiss laughed and continued on to catch up to Aria.

Aria had finally stopped and was speaking to an asari and a turian that were both dressed in battle armor. Shepard approached the party. "We did just as you asked Aria," the turian was reporting. "Your agents have been fighting Cerberus throughout Omega and we hurried to reach the Omega Clinic to rendezvous with you."

"Excellent, Nuris," Aria answered. "What have you found out about Cerberus and all these mutated vorcha?"

Nuris hesitated for a moment, but decided that withholding information would only make the situation worse. "Cerberus has been rounding people up and injecting them with a synthetic form of a Reaper virus. Then they placed some type of control collar on them in an attempt to use them as soldiers. We managed to take out the control frequency, but it also disabled all comms throughout Omega."

The asari was quick to add to the report, "They have taken more than half of the population off Omega for an unknown project. The vorcha however, didn't cooperate with their plan."

"Serves bastards right!" Hiss chimed in. "We hard to kill and not control us."

Nuris confirmed what they already knew and to Aria's credit, she did not outwardly react. "We need to get to the control room and take out the rest of Cerberus. I want to know about this project too," Aria said to group.

With Garrus standing guard next to her, Tali started working on hacking the main computer terminal in Omega Clinic. "Commander," Tali said, attempting to get the attention of the group. "I am in."

"Good job, Tali," Shepard answered. "What can you tell us?"

"General Oleg Petrovsky is in charge of Cerberus on Omega. He's also overseeing a scientific facility called Zenith Station that is orbiting the Omega-4 Relay. That appears to be where most of the residents of Omega were taken and tested on. Cerberus has been having considerable problems with the vorcha and took a lot of casualties."

"Good and Petrovsky is still here," Aria said wickedly. "He's all mine. I am going to make him pay for everything he has done here."

Tali continued, "Also, the virus mutated when exposed to biotics and all asari that were exposed died almost instantly. Petrovsky requested backup from the Illusive Man. He didn't get more troops, but he did receive orders to attempt to refine the virus to specifically work on the asari and the krogan."

Liara gasped and suddenly looked sick. Shepard gently wrapped an arm around her waist to help comfort her. "How can Cerberus do this?" Liara asked and moved in closer to Shepard. "What purpose could it serve to kill so many and so cruelly?"

Tali finished with her findings, "This is truly horrible, Commander! There is a reference to make preparations for Project Citadel. The Illusive Man requested a few thousand of the strongest and most easily controlled subjects to be moved to a facility to train for this operation. The rest were to be terminated, including non-essential personnel on Zenith Station."

"Doesn't pay to work for the Illusive Man," Shepard said. "That is some sick retirement plan."

Aria felt a wave of cold take hold of her at the mention of Project Citadel. "What exactly are those 'things' going to be used for and how is the Citadel involved?" _I need to warn Thea!_

Tali shook her head, "There isn't anything else mentioned."

The group stood in silence for a moment, taking in Tali's report. Aria was first to break the silence, "Where exactly is Petrovsky?"

Tali pushed a few buttons and then replied, "He is using the control room as his base of operations. He has also set up a makeshift lab in Afterlife to work on the virus. He will most likely be in one of those places."

Shepard looked at Aria, it was clear that they both had the same thought… _Get to Afterlife and take out the virus and Petrovsky._

* * *

Standing on the bridge of the Normandy, Ashley watched the smoldering remains of Zenith Station. She felt both satisfaction and sadness that she could not put into words. She bowed her head and closed her eyes and mentally said a prayer for all those that Cerberus had killed or experimented on. _Those people deserved better_.

Joker and EDI remained quiet and watched the reaction of Ashley. EDI made a mental note to ask Joker later about the ritual.

"Joker, set course for Omega," Ashley commanded. "EDI, please inform the leader of the merc squad to meet us on Omega… I think it might be a good idea to have as much force as possible available to us when we get to Omega. Who knows what kind of trouble Shepard and the team have been running into?"

Both Joker and EDI answered affirmatively. They all took one last look at the remains of the station and Ashley headed out of the bridge. She made her way back to the galaxy map to talk with Sam. She wanted to make sure the specialist was doing okay after the mission and Ashley hadn't had time yet to debrief her.

"Hi Sam," Ashley said warmly as she approached Samantha Traynor. "I wanted to discuss the mission with you."

"Of course, Lt. Commander," Sam said reciprocating Ashley's tone.

"Let's talk in the conference room," Ashley said as she headed in the direction of their destination, Sam followed her lead.

They entered the conference and Ashley turned to address Sam, "I just wanted to see how you were doing. It was pretty gruesome over there and Cerberus did some truly sickening things to the people of Omega."

Sam looked Ashley straight in the eyes, "Thank you for asking Lt. Commander, but I am okay. It's just hard to imagine that Cerberus could function for so long and be so corrupt. It makes you wonder what they will do next. They don't seem to have any lines that they won't cross in order to advance whatever their twisted agenda might be."

"No, it seems that they will do just about anything to advance their cause," Ashley agreed. "The Illusive Man is almost worse than the Reapers. By the way, you can call me Ashley or Williams… you don't need to be so formal."

"Thanks… Ashley," Sam said with a faint smile. "I was wondering if I can I keep the gun?"

Now Ashley was laughing, "Sure, I told you that you were one of us and I meant it!"

EDI came over the comm, "Lt. Commander, the mercs are en route to meet us at Omega. We should be there within the hour."

"Thanks EDI," Ashley replied and then shrugged her shoulders at Sam. "We sure will have some tales to tell when this is all over! I better go get ready and Sam, this time I will need you monitoring anything and everything to and from Omega."

"Got it, Ashley and good luck," Sam said as they headed back to the CIC.

* * *

Omega Clinic had been secured and it was decided that the Blood Pack and some of Aria's people would stay with the residents and try to start getting things back in order. They were going to need the clinic and it seemed to make sense to keep the civilians away from the virus. Shepard left Hiss and Nuris in charge as they headed to Afterlife.

Aria led the group to a back entrance of the club, one that was not known to anyone but her and a select few of her body guards. The secret entrance opened to scaffolding that ran the circumference above the club. It gave the team a perfect view of everything below and hopefully a tactical advantage.

When Aria entered Afterlife, it was not recognizable as the club that she had held court in. Cerberus agents were standing guard around a dozen makeshift rooms. Screams could be heard coming from some of them. Luckily, they had not been seen by Cerberus and were able to get a good read of the situation. Shepard directed Shaya and Garrus to take up sniping positions, while the rest of the team would covertly take down the agents and carefully investigate the rooms.

Aria immediately headed to her private lounge area with the hope of finding Petrovsky. Liara and Shepard raced after her, while the others spanned out to eliminate the Cerberus threat.

"Damn it Aria, slow down," Shepard called. "You don't know what you'll find."

Aria ignored Shepard and approached the area that she knew intimately. When she looked down at her sofa, she saw a note that read 'Welcome Home Bitch!' She picked it up and immediately knew it was a trap.

Shepard was behind Aria and heard the familiar sound of a bomb triggering. She quickly threw up a barrier, pushed Aria away and wrapped herself around Liara.

Shepard took the brunt of the explosion and both Aria and Liara did not completely escape the blast.

Aria was conscious, her ears were ringing and she was shaken. She quickly struggled to get to her feet, but was not altogether successful. A large shape appeared over her and forced something around her neck. She collapsed and could not move any part of her body. She felt herself being dragged to an exit. In her periphery vision, she could also see the forms of Shepard and Liara receiving similar treatment.

Shepard had been knocked unconscious and was now wearing a collar and secured to the wall opposite of Liara and Aria. Both of the asari had sustained minor injuries, but had been fitted with the collars that inhibited all movement. General Oleg Petrovsky entered the room, appearing triumphant.

"You see Aria, no matter how much you fight us, we will always win. You should not have returned to Omega. What were you trying to accomplish anyway? The scum here could care less about you. Most don't even know what is going on outside of their own pathetic lives."

Aria glared at him with such intense hatred that he looked away for a split second. Of course Petrovsky knew that she could not reply or act on her thoughts with the collar in place.

"So, now what to do with you all… the Illusive Man wants Shepard intact, but you two… he does not care about. I think perhaps you both might serve us best as test subjects. You asari have been very hard to adapt to our virus, you just keep dying." He spoke into his omni-tool, "Get me the latest dose, I will need two injections prepared." He then laughed and left the room to obtain the syringes.

Aria and Liara were completely immobile, not even capable of speech. Their hands were bound to each other and they had been placed back-to-back when the collars had been put on them. Aria focused and reached out to Liara with her mind. Aria's eyes swirled to black and all her strength was sent to reach the other asari.

_We need to focus our biotics on the collars. Together, I think we can break free. Liara, you must trust me and let me in._ Liara understood and accepted Aria's thoughts into her mind.

Through the meld, Aria could feel Liara's fear but she could also feel her resolve to stop Cerberus and her defiance. Benezia's mental teachings were racing through Liara's mind, along with the memories of her mother's indoctrination and death; she would not end up like her mother.

They opened their thoughts to each other. Liara's fear was met with Aria's rage and the lines between them started to blur… _Benezia's indoctrination… Thessia's destruction… Liselle's lifeless body… Kai Lang… the Reapers… Shepard's death… being forced from Omega…_ all mixing together. The thoughts and feelings were overwhelming, both asari were pouring so much pain and anger into each other and it was not enough to break free.

_Focus..._

Liara thought of Shepard and the future that she desperately wanted with her, while Aria focused on freeing Omega and seeing Tevos again.

_For our futures… fight back_…

Fear and rage were slowly replaced with hope and strength… _Shepard alive… friends on the Normandy… finding Aethyta… the memory of Liselle... Omega free… holding Tevos... _The feelings of love and the desire for life filled them.

_Focus… warp field… collars... freedom..._

Petrovsky came back in, still laughing. "Who should go first? I think I will leave the mighty Aria, Pirate Queen of Omega, for last." He approached Liara and raised the syringe to inject her.

From their meld, Aria and Liara were both fully charged in a biotic field and together, they released a warp field that shorted out both of their collars and bindings. Aria was on Petrovsky before he could even register the movement of the asari.

The syringe fell to the floor as Aria sent the man flying into the wall next to Shepard. Aria continued the assault and slammed into him with all her force. She picked him up and snapped his neck without saying a word. Petrovsky's body went lifeless in her arms and she held him in that position for what seemed an eternity. Aria felt a familiar hand on her shoulder and knew instinctively that it was Liara's. She released Petrovsky and watched his body slump to the floor.

Aria turned to face Liara, not knowing what to say. They had both shared memories and feelings through the meld that would normally be reserved for more intimate partners, but had made the difference between life or death and freedom.

"Help me with Shepard," Liara said. She wore a concerned look and Aria knew that she was trying to keep her emotions at bay.

Aria nodded and they quickly got Shepard out of her bonds. She looked unharmed except for the large knot on her head. Liara gently attempted to rouse her.

"Thank you," Aria whispered to Liara. "She will be okay… she is too stubborn to let Cerberus stop her."

"Like you," Liara replied, feeling a new respect for the other asari.

"Hmph," was Aria's response. "Shepard is too noble for my taste, but I see why you are drawn to her," she spoke with genuine affection instead of her usual sarcasm.

The moment was broken, as Shepard started to wake up. "Liara… Are you alright?" Shepard said while attempting to open her eyes and look around.

"I am fine… you were knocked out. Aria and I were able to get free and stop Petrovsky."

Shepard saw the slumped over, lifeless form of the man lying next to her. "What happened?"

"It does not matter, we are okay and we need to contact the Normandy," Liara said as she leaned down to kiss Shepard's forehead. She then wrapped herself around her and held her tightly.

Shepard's head was throbbing and the scene around her had her very concerned, but she was happy to be holding Liara.

Aria watched the exchange between the human and the asari and could not help but to think of Tevos. For now, she would need to be content with her victory over Petrovsky.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Well I said this was going to be the end, but I was wrong and there will be at least one more chapter. A very special thanks to my friend Tayg (check out her stories too) for her wonderful editing and suggestions to help make this chapter happen – you can also thank her for the additional chapter. Please enjoy and feel free to leave a review. Also, if you like this story, I wrote a companion piece that takes place in the very distant future called A Life Remembered. Thanks for reading!_

Chapter 10: Resolution

Joker brought the Normandy in close to one of the docking bays of Omega; the stealth system was still engaged. Lt. Cortez had no problems transporting Ashley and some of the Alliance troops over to Omega. It seemed quiet and they were not met with any resistance.

Ashley disembarked with EDI and the soldiers making up her team. Communications were still out in Omega, but thanks to Sam, she was able to set up a link between her team and the newly arriving mercs. They were all to head out to the main control room and try to get the comm system back up.

Ashley was eager to lead another team. After the discovery on Zenith Station though, she had some apprehension about what she would actually find on Omega. "Okay everyone," Ashley said to the group. "We all know what we are potentially up against. Be ready for combat with Cerberus and any mutated civilians. Move out!" _I need to find out what happened to Shepard and my friends. Fucking Cerberus, I hope Aria is as much a threat as she acts._

* * *

From their position above Afterlife, Garrus and Shaya had a perfect view of the scene below and all of their potential targets. "Hey kid," Garrus felt right in his element and was reminded of his time as Archangel as he addressed the young looking asari. "Care for a friendly bet? I've seen your work with that Viper… want to test it against my Mantis?"

Being Rhetia's younger sister and extremely competitive, Shaya couldn't help but accept the challenge from Garrus. She also knew that he thought that she was much younger and inexperienced than she actually was. _Poor turian has no idea that I've been sharp shooting with my sister for the past 230 years_, Shaya thought and smiled to herself. "You're on, Pops!" She decided to throw in 'Pops' to keep up the guise of being younger.

The two snipers moved into position to start their wager and deal Cerberus some serious damage. Garrus was first to make a kill and he happily looked over at Shaya to flaunt it. As he did, she took aim and was able to take out two unsuspecting agents with one shot. Garrus was impressed with the asari's skills and quickly shifted his focus back to the task at hand, kill Cerberus troops and take out more than the asari.

After 15 minutes of taking aim, shooting and then changing positions, Garrus and Shaya had racked up a very impressive body count. Garrus was also aware that Shaya's total was a bit more than his own. _What is it with women and sniper rifles?_ Garrus thought to himself. _She reminds me of Shepard, damn it!_

Shaya focused, _One more, hold still… perfect_, she pulled the trigger of her fully modded M-97 Viper sniper rifle and added another body to her tally. She was about to say something smug to the turian when she heard an explosion coming from the private lounge that Aria, Shepard and Liara had been heading toward. She whistled to her sister and pointed toward the smoke; Rhetia nodded and started making her way to the lounge.

Garrus and Shaya both made haste to get into a position above the lounge so that they might get a read on what exactly happened. They also were vying to get the best line of fire to add to their totals. Instead of getting a better vantage point, the two found that the scaffolding stopped short of the lounge and the way the area was laid out, they were not able to see below.

"Figures Aria would make it so no one could use this against her," Garrus said to Shaya, he was actually concerned for his friends and not being able to see the damage below wasn't helping. "We should get down there, that doesn't look good."

Agreed… By the way, I'm at 46 and I believe you are at 37," Shaya could not help but to brag a bit as they made their way down to get to the lounge.

"Yeah… yeah," Garrus was frustrated with the entire situation, but did not want the asari to know that. "There are still plenty more out there to add though."

Rhetia was the first to arrive at the lounge. Wafts of smoke were in the air, but the explosion had not been very large. It looked like the bomb had been used to immobilize instead of to kill outright. There were three Cerberus agents positioned to greet anyone that responded to the explosion, luckily Rhetia saw them first. She quickly threw out a stasis field on the first one, while training her assault rifle on the second and then the third. The one caught in her bubble was trying without success to take aim at her, when she heard the sound of a shot hit him. Rhetia looked up to see Garrus and Shaya standing in the entrance.

"See… now that's 38," Garrus said gleefully. As he looked around at the scene, his tone quickly changed and his concern for his friends became forefront on his mind. He addressed Rhetia, "Where are the others?"

"It looks like they have been taken by force," Rhetia easily maintained her composure after years of being a commando in Eclipse and pointed to three trails left in the carpet by bodies being dragged across it and out a hidden exit. "Come on, let's see where they went."

The exit opened to a very narrow hallway that led to what looked like a maze. As soon as they left the lounge, the trail was impossible to follow. Garrus knew that they didn't have much time to find his friends and immediately had an idea, "We need Tali. She can probably track them with her omni-tool and she can hack anything that might get in our way. Stay here and I'll go back and get her."

The sisters nodded at Garrus and he was off and running to get the quarian. Now that is was just the two of them, Rhetia couldn't help but to tease her sister, "I take it you are ahead?"

"Of course I am," Shaya boasted and then thought of the carnage the two of them had left. "He is very good though… for a turian." They both laughed.

* * *

Garrus returned with both Tali and James. Tali was able to navigate the maze successfully, as Garrus had promised. She had led them to another hidden entrance that had a sealed entrance. From behind the door, they could clearly hear troop movement.

"Can you tell how many there are?" Garrus was eager to continue his competition with Shaya and knew that the team would be able to handle Cerberus.

"I'm not totally sure, but it looks to be about 20 or so… and some of those could be Shepard, Liara and Aria," Tali had more concern in her voice than Garrus did and she didn't want to accidently hurt one of their team.

Rhetia was tired of the delay, but wanted to make certain that they had the best tactical advantage, so she decided to weigh her options, "Is there another way in?"

"I'm not seeing any other entrances," Tali replied.

"Well, hopefully we can take them out quickly and by surprise," James was restless and looking forward to taking down more troops.

They all readied themselves for action and got in position. James looked like a tank ready to mow down anything that got in his way. Garrus and Shaya had their rifles ready, both hoping to outgun the other. Rhetia flared her biotics and checked her assault rifle. Tali summoned her drone and took aim with her shotgun.

Tali hacked the door and as it slid open, Garrus took aim and shot the first Cerberus trooper he could. James rushed in and shot anything with a helmet. Rhetia and Shaya worked in unison, one would immobilize with biotics, while the other fired with their weapon and each had a kill within seconds. They all moved out quickly and scanned the room for their friends, it was all Cerberus.

The team worked amazing well together, which resulted in a large body count for Cerberus. Bodies of the troops were scattered all over the room. Some were riddled with bullet holes, some had been torn apart by biotics and some were not recognizable at all. There were pools of blood on the floor and blood spatter across the walls making it look like something out of a horror movie.

Garrus looked at the macabre sight with satisfaction and then over at Tali; it was a scene they had grown accustomed to while fighting alongside Shepard. "Any indication of where the others are?" Garrus asked Tali.

Tali shook her head in response to the question.

They all looked around the room. There appeared to be a lab or some type of holding room in front of them. Rhetia thought that the lab area would be a good first objective and took the opportunity to make a command decision, "Let's start with that one and stay together… who knows what we might run into."

The group nodded their agreement and Tali went to work on the control panel; the team assumed their positions as the door opened. They swiftly eliminated the Cerberus personnel in the room and then started investigating. The workers were not in armor, but were outfitted in specially tailored environmental suits. The temperature had also been lowered to almost freezing and there were workbenches with microscopes and various types of lab equipment strewn throughout. In the back of the lab were racks of tubes that were filled with a slightly glowing, greenish liquid.

Seeing the filled tubes made Tali suddenly very nervous and she instinctively looked to Garrus for support, "Do you think that is the virus?"

"Absolutely," replied Rhetia. "We need to secure this room and make sure that no one tampers with anything until we figure out how to destroy it."

"I volunteer," James quickly offered.

Garrus had moved next to Tali who was now fidgeting nervously with her hands and he could tell that the quarian was deeply concerned by their findings. He decided to comfort her and lighten the mood by shifting the conversation back to his losing efforts against Shaya, "Sounds good, I still need to catch up to Shaya… what's the count now? I'm at 48."

"53," Shaya said triumphantly and flashed Garrus a cocky grin that brimmed with confidence.

There were no other entrances or exits into the room, so the team headed back to the main area that had all the now dead troops. There was one more door to open and Tali eagerly started to hack it. Again, the team took up their positions as the door opened. This time, they were met by Aria and Liara, who was supporting a battered looking Shepard, all had their biotics at the ready.

* * *

Rhetia was the first to identify the group and yelled to everyone, "Aria." Still on guard, she was able to relax slightly at the sight of her superior.

"It's good of you all to finally fucking find us!" Aria kept her biotics at the ready and shot Rhetia a glare that showed she was very annoyed with the situation.

Liara did not allow anyone time to respond to Aria's gibe and was truly relieved to see the group. Even though Shepard was conscious, it was obvious that she was hurt and Liara was still feeling the after effects of the meld with Aria. She looked over at her friends and called out, "Garrus, Tali, help me with Shepard!"

They both stepped forward and were at the Commander's side, letting Liara fully regain her balance.

Garrus looked over his wounded friend and then to the body slumped next to her. It was obvious that Shepard had not made the kill and both Aria and Liara seemed to be keyed up. "What happened here?" Garrus said and pointed to the body that was slumped next to the wall.

Aria was fast with a response and spit it out with pure venom, "That was the Cerberus bastard who tried to destroy Omega." She looked down to address the corpse, "I warned you that I would be back… you broke the first rule of Omega… don't fuck with Aria!"

There were footsteps approaching the room, a lot of them. The group was not in the best position tactically and it was obvious that Shepard was not up for a fight. Liara instinctively erected a barrier to protect her love. The rest of them readied themselves for combat.

"The control room is over here," a familiar voice shouted from outside the door.

"Ashley?" Liara and Tali said simultaneously and with relief at hearing their comrade.

They all relaxed as Ashley Williams, flanked with a mix of Alliance soldiers and mercs, entered the room. "Normandy, we found them!" Ashley said excitedly into her comm.

Still processing all the emotions from the meld and steeped with concern for Shepard's injuries, Liara addressed the group, "We need to get Shepard to Dr. Chakwas."

Shepard spoke up, "I'm okay… stop fusing over me Liara… I…"

"Enough," Aria interrupted. "You took the brunt of an explosion and you were knocked out. You need to be looked at and that is final! You are an incredibly stubborn human."

Shepard and the rest of the Normandy crew looked stunned that the directions came from Aria and not Liara.

Liara smiled, _Aria is still feeling the effects of the meld too_.

Not wanting to fight with both Liara and Aria, Shepard admitted defeat, "Okay… Okay, I'm going."

"Come on, I will make sure you get there in one piece," Liara returned to Shepard's side, snuck in a kiss and took her hand. She could not help but give Aria a very warm smile as they made their way out.

"Alright, let's make sure that Cerberus no longer has any presence here," Aria was feeling her full authority return. She looked at the incoming mercs and quickly directed them to start a level by level search for any evidence of her nemesis. "Williams, any chance that your people can help get the Omega Clinic up and running? We are going to need medical supplies and a safe place for people to go."

"Of course," Ashley replied although she was not sure she should be taking orders from Aria.

Aria quickly added, "Also, I'd like to borrow your quarian for a little while."

"The quarian has a name, it is Tali'Zorah," Tali proclaimed. "What do you want with me anyway, Aria?"

Aria smiled at Tali, as she actually had come to like the quarain and saw her as an asset. She didn't want her to know that though and answered her in her sarcastic tone, "I thought that you might actually be able to get the communications up and running. You seem like you are a rather handy and a capable engineer."

"Thank you… I think," Tali was never sure how to interpret Aria. "I might need Traynor to help too. Cerberus really messed things up and in taking out the comms, your people were quite thorough and destructive."

"Whatever you need," Aria knew that she was going to get her desired request and decided to change her tone slightly. "Maybe you ladies would be so kind as to equip me with one of those vid comms as well."

"You would need to clear that with Shepard first," Tali said as she started working on the remains of the main computer.

"I will make sure to ask her then," Aria said, trying not to sound too obvious about her request. _Liara could probably help make that happen… I will have to mention it before I talk to Shepard._

* * *

"No Commander, you may not return to active duty for at least 48 hours," Dr. Chakwas was having a hard time with her very stubborn patient. "You suffered a concussion from an explosion... do not make me pull rank."

Shepard had started to complain, but Liara placed a finger on her lips to stop her, "Doctor, I will make sure she gets plenty of bed rest." Liara gave Shepard a knowing smile and Shepard immediately stopped her protesting.

Dr. Chakwas shook her head in defeat, knowing that the Commander might be in bed for 48 hours but she probably would not be getting much rest, "Fine Liara, but at least be somewhat gentle."

"Come on, let's get you to your quarters," Liara gently helped Shepard to her feet and led her out of the medical bay.

* * *

Since the communications were still down, Aria decided to make her request for the vid comm personally. She arrived unannounced at the Normandy and ran into Sam, who was heading out to help Tali.

"Hello, Sam," Aria used her seductive tone on the human, knowing that Sam was easily flustered by her. "Are you off to help Tali fix up Omega?"

Sam smiled warmly at Aria, "Yes… I heard that I am needed to rebuild and calibrate the comms system and… you probably don't want to know all the specifics, do you?"

Aria just shook her head and smiled back at the awkward Specialist. "I will make sure to see you later." She actually meant it, as Aria had come to enjoy the girl.

Aria found out that Shepard had listened to her directions and went to the medical bay to get checked out, so she headed there with purpose. When she arrived, the doors opened up to reveal the two people that she was hoping to meet.

"Aria," Liara was surprised to see the asari. She was feeling smug and almost giddy at the thought of getting to have Shepard to herself for two days. Liara could tell by Aria's expression that she immediately knew her plans for the Commander.

Aria had her own agenda but was actually happy for Liara. The result of the meld had left her with a genuine affection and respect for Liara. She decided to use this in making her request to the Commander, "Shepard, I wanted to see how you were doing."

Unaccustomed to any concern shown by Aria, Shepard narrowed her eyes and looked at her curiously, "Really Aria? Why are you actually here?"

Aria returned Shepard's expression, "Right to the point… I want one of those vid comms for my private use and I was told you're the one to make that happen." After the request, Aria directed her gaze to Liara and saw that she was sympathetic to her needs.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shepard was shocked by the request.

"Shepard," Liara spoke to her lover with pure sweetness and made sure to gently caress her back while speaking. "Don't you think it would be in our interest to make sure that Aria has a direct line to the Council and the Normandy? If Cerberus returned, we would know about it almost instantly. Besides, it would be good for Aria to owe us a favor."

Shepard thought about saying no, but she could tell that Liara had her reasons and she had learned to trust her, "Fine… EDI, make sure that Aria gets her vid comm and make sure that I am not bothered! I am on bed rest for the next 48 hours."

"Yes, Commander," EDI replied.

"Okay, Aria… you got what you wanted. Now it's time for me to go lay down. I'll check in with you before we head out of here. I think that a week should suffice to help you get this station in some sort of working order." Shepard hesitated for a moment and then added, "One more thing…"

Aria looked inquisitively at Shepard, "What?"

"Since you are here and so eager to get a vid comm, why don't you go update the Council for me. The last thing I want to have to do is talk to them and you seem very keen on a certain asari…"

"Fine!" Aria cut her off before she could finish her sentence. Aria did not hesitate and headed for the lift to take her to the war room and Tevos. She did not see Liara lean in to kiss Shepard as they made their way to the Commander's quarters.

* * *

Aria found herself staring at the controls to activate the vid comm. She was not use to the feeling of wanting someone for more than just casual sex. During her meld with Liara, she had used her emotions for Tevos to help free herself and Omega. Now she was left with a raw sensation of uncertainty and vulnerability, two emotions that Aria did not allow herself to feel or admit to. Yet, here she was… staring at blank space in front of her and wanting to be looking at Tevos instead. She reached out and activated the connection.

Tevos appeared wearing a stoic expression, "Aria, what is going on with Omega?"

Aria studied Tevos for a moment, letting herself enjoy the familiar view. She was quick to notice that Thea's normally calm features were the same, except for her eyes. Her forehead was slightly furrowed and her eyes were narrowed slightly holding a worried expression.

Aria hesitated for a moment to take her in and then felt her anger and frustration at Cerberus, "They used my people as fucking lab rats, Thea. They removed the humans and rounded up the rest so they could test some kind of Reaper virus that they made. Those bastards were trying to make some kind of fucking soldier. They ended up infecting or killing half of Omega!"

Tevos appeared shocked at the news, her body language softened and she looked as if she wanted to embrace her. "I am truly sorry, Aria… are you okay?" Tevos spoke gently and with concern.

"We stopped them, but…" Aria trailed off and her voice got softer, "It was at a horrible cost." Aria was reliving the devastation of Omega, but was also dealing with the feelings of the loss of Liselle.

Tevos could see the weight of the situation and the hurt that Aria was feeling and felt helpless to do anything to help comfort her, "I am sorry," Tevos offered, but knew that her words were not enough.

Aria tried to shake off her feelings and her expression changed, she seemed to harden. She looked at Tevos in the eye and spoke with her usual authority, "Thea, Cerberus has some kind of twisted plan that involves using the mutated creatures and I think it's aimed at the Citadel. I want you to come here. We've got the space and resources to accommodate a lot of the refugees arriving at the Citadel. You can inspect the facilities and have the refugees accompany you."

Tevos was not expecting the news about Cerberus or the offer to help refugees and could not help but to look surprised, "I don't know… I should speak with the Council."

"No, Thea… I don't think you understand just how dangerous these things are and the Illusive Man has already shown that he's insane and will discard non-humans without thought," Aria was not going to take no from Tevos. "If he has more of that virus, then all non-humans are in immediate danger."

"Aria… don't you think that you are overreacting?" Tevos still didn't know what to think of the demand that Aria was making of her.

"Damn it Thea, I will not let that twisted fuck take any more from me!" Aria said angrily and with a tinge of fear in her voice. "If you don't agree to leave, then I'll be forced to get you myself."

Tevos noticed that Aria's posture had changed and was now more threatening. Aria stood at her full height and made herself as large as possible. Tevos saw the determination in Aria's posture and could hear the commanding tone of her voice. Thea also recognized the feelings that Aria were conveying to her without her outright declaration. "Alright, Aria… I will inform the Council and will start to organize refugees to depart for Omega immediately. It will take a little time to work out the details, but I will be in touch," Tevos was trying to reassure herself and Aria. "Thank you, Aria… I will be alright and you will be helping a lot of people."

"Please don't take too long. I want you here!" Aria could hear the urgency in her own voice, but she did not want to think about the consequences if Cerberus was targeting the Citadel_. I will not let that bastard hurt her._

Tevos nodded to Aria and looked at her with longing; she realized that she too wanted to be on Omega with Aria at her side, "I will talk to you soon, Aria… I am touched by your concern and your offer."

Aria recognized the concessions from Thea and knew that she had convinced her to leave the Citadel. She still felt vulnerable and retreated back to more familiar behavior, covering her feelings with arrogance, "Just get here and then we can do something about the touching."

The screen faded and Aria was left standing in front of the empty space again. She felt a partial victory at Tevo's response, but still very helpless to defend her against Cerberus while she was on the Citadel. Aria hated the feelings of doubt and reliance on another. She thought back to her meld with Liara and all of the raw emotions that the two had exchanged and knew that like it or not, Thea Tevos was part of her now. _She will be alright and she is coming._


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: This is the final chapter – thanks for reading and yes, I plan to write more Aria/Tevos tales. Once again, Tayg helped to make this a much better chapter through her editing and constructive feedback and I owe her big time! Thanks to everyone that left me a review, PM or just read from a distance. It has been fun to create this and I hope you enjoy…_

Chapter 11: Return

Over the course of her mandated bed rest, Shepard noticed a change in her lover. She could not quite put her finger on it, but Liara seemed more empowered and assertive in their intimacy. Shyness and hesitation no longer existed between them. Using their bond to push their bodies to climax with authority and wanting and knowing just how far to go before causing pain, resulted in Liara's mastery of Shepard's pleasure.

The beautiful, naked form of Liara was close enough to the Commander to let her take in her body heat, but denied her the physical contact she desired. Two days of bed rest had left her wanting more of Liara, but her recent wounds were also still healing and a reminder of the their mission. Not able to resist her temptation, Shepard pulled Liara closer, while gently stroking her back and inhaling her floral smell. Once Liara was pressed up against her, Shepard planted a kiss on her forehead and watched her sleep. _Maybe I should get a concussion more often._

The movement caused Liara to stir. She turned over and started to pull away as if to get up. A wide smile appeared on Liara's face and her blue eyes wore a playful expression as she pulled the sheets up to her chin. Before Shepard could complain, Liara pounced on top of her, encircling her chest with her thighs. Leaning down to kiss Shepard passionately, she whispered softly, "I love you, you know."

"I do… and you know that I love you too, Liara." Not wanting Liara to retreat, Shepard strained her neck to plant another kiss on her lover's lips. She could see Liara's excitement and felt a slight charge from her biotics, signaling that she wanted more than her kisses. She reached out to touch the breast that was just out of range, when a sudden flash of pain rushed through her that became readable on her face.

"Shepard… are you hurt?" Desire was suddenly replaced by concern as Liara returned to Shepard's side.

"I'll be okay." The pain was a reminder of their recent mission and it was also something they had neglected to talk about. Shepard's brow furrowed slightly as she was reflecting on everything that had taken place. "What exactly happened between you and Aria when I was knocked out? Do I need to be concerned?"

Liara was not fazed by the question, "No… let's just say that I have a unique understanding of Aria's motivations… and she might have some insight into mine as well."

"Now I'm really curious, how could anyone ever understand her without being in her head?" Shepard's eyes suddenly got bigger as her face betrayed her state of shock. "Please don't tell me that you melded with her… Liara, what the hell happened?"

Recalling the events in her mind brought up all kinds of emotions for Liara. Her blue eyes slightly glazed over and went out of focus as she thought about her response. "It was necessary; you did not see what they planned for us."

Sensing her lover's discomfort, Shepard reached out to pull Liara back into her embrace. "It's okay… I'm right here… Liara, please let me in…"

Feeling the safety of Shepard, Liara decided how to explain her meld with Aria. Her eye's swirled black and she reached out to Shepard's mind. No words were needed as she allowed the memory to flow to her lover.

The meld lasted only a few minutes and when it was broken, Shepard held Liara even tighter. As she digested all the emotions between the two asari and took in the danger of the situation, tears started to form in her green eyes. "I had no idea you both went through all that," Shepard reflexively kissed Liara and stroked her crest. "Remind me to thank Aria."

Feeling somewhat relieved to have been able to share everything with Shepard, Liara wanted to focus back on the few hours they would be able to savor before charging into the next mission. The playfulness returned to her face and she again pushed Shepard back into the bed. "Enough of that now… I am not done with you yet…"

Shepard obediently followed Liara's cues and readied herself for her lover. "Who am I to argue?"

* * *

Omega had undergone damage as a result of Cerberus, but nothing in comparison to its people. Aria had been busy directing the cleanup, making sure that resources got where they were needed most. The threat of Cerberus had been eliminated and the virus was properly destroyed, but Omega seemed like a ghost of itself without all of the inhabitants. Luckily, the residential districts were relatively untouched as far as damage and the comms were back in working order. Aria was confident that Omega would be ready to receive the refugees from the Citadel and the Reaper War.

Crews had worked tirelessly to ensure that the Omega Clinic would be ready to assist with the inevitable medical care needed by its newest residents. The markets had been cleaned up and restocked to allow for commerce and the mercs were under Aria's authority to guarantee some type of law and order. Afterlife would be the next area to receive the workers efforts, as it had been transformed into a macabre, makeshift detention area where much of the population had been exposed to the virus.

Looking out on what remained of Afterlife from her private lounge; Aria was reminded of the true evil that was Cerberus. She could not wait to have all remnants of their experimentation gone and have her haven back. The thought of the virus and how close she had come to becoming a victim of it filled her with anger. _If not for Liara, could I have stopped them?_ It was a thought that she pondered more than once.

Aria's contemplation of the last few days was interrupted as she noticed someone approaching her. The anger faded slightly and a smile started to cross her face as she saw Samantha Traynor. The girl still looked nervous as she came to stand in front of her, but she was wearing a large smile. "Hello, Sam… How is everything coming along?"

Eager to tell Aria of her success, Sam thought about giving her a breakdown of all the work that she had completed, but quickly changed her mind. Instead, Sam thought to focus on her most recent project, "Ah… Hi, Aria… Tali and I have your vid comm all set up and tested… you can use it whenever."

"Thank you, Sam." Enjoying how uneasy Sam could get in her presence, Aria thought back to their game night, sported a devilish grin and changed her tone, "Maybe you could come by later… we could play another game of chess. I do believe you owe me a rematch."

Since she had won their first chess game, Sam started to feel more confident. Her posture lightened as she considered the offer, "I would love it, but I have a lot of work to do before we leave Omega. I am supposed to head back down to the clinic and assist Tali."

"Too bad, I was hoping that I could even things up," Disappointed with Sam's answer, Aria shook her head but was also laughing slightly. "Don't be a stranger to Omega… you know we do offer more than chess or at least we will once things get back to normal."

Blushing from Aria's suggestion, Sam decided it was time to make her exit, "Ah… Thanks Aria. I will keep your offer in mind." As she turned to leave, Sam was still looking at Aria and walked directly into Shaya.

Shaya had observed Traynor while she was working on the main comms in the control room and had taken note of her comfort with computers, but complete lack of social nuances with people. To help perpetuate Sam's discomfort, Shaya reached for Sam's arm and delicately stroked it. She donned her most seductive smile and used her melodic tone to continue Aria's offer, "I could show you some of those, 'other' attractions."

Flustered again by the physical contact, Sam was immediately intimidated by the very attractive asari dressed in full heavy armor and sporting an equally impressive sniper rifle. "W-what, oh sorry… I didn't mean to run into you. Th-thank you, but I better be on my way."

Shaya rolled her eyes and let out a slight laugh, "Your loss!"

Sam hurried off to the clinic feeling rather anxious, but also a bit curious. _Maybe I'll come back to Omega once this war is over._

* * *

Impatient to check out her new vid comm and to see how the restoration of her apartment was coming along, Aria decided to head to her quarters. She stood and looked over Afterlife again and then headed for the private door that led to her apartment. A warning beep from her omni-tool indicated that someone was attempting to reach her. Another wave of annoyance rushed over her as she answered, "Yes… what now!" The voice that answered was not the one she was anticipating.

Undeterred by Aria's response, Liara continued, "Aria… I was hoping that I might talk to you later?"

Aria stopped and gave her full attention to Liara, her voice changed to a more friendly tone, "I have some time now. I was just heading to my apartment inspect your team's handy work. Care to meet me there?"

"Yes, I will be there momentarily."

There were still emotions and memories that were unresolved between the two asari as a result of their meld and Aria did not like for other's to know her as intimately as Liara now did. The longer she replayed that incident in her mind, the more she found herself admitting that she actually liked and trusted Liara. _Shepard will just love that I've melded with her girlfriend._ She laughed at the thought and continued on the familiar route to her apartment.

When she arrived, Aria was pleased to find that any evidence of Cerberus had been removed from her living space and the remodel was almost completely finished. The vid comm was set up in a private section that doubled as an office and also held a large desk made with wood imported from Thessia. The center piece of the room was a wall sized window that looked out to the asteroid field and was naturally illuminated by the mass effect ring of the station. Placed in front of the window was a large divan and table made from the same Thessian wood as the desk. Tucked on the opposite corner of the room and not visible from the door, was her overly large bed, changing area and en suite.

A few workers were peering nervously at Aria waiting for some acknowledgement of their labor. In keeping with her authoritative bravado, she addressed them with her most commanding tone, "Everyone, get the fuck out… now!" Happy with their reaction, she watched as they quickly scampered away, afraid to invoke her wrath.

About an hour later, the door to her apartment chimed. Aria had been seated on the divan with her legs crossed; taking in the view she had missed since her exile. Rising to her full height, she stood as regally as she could in front of the window, folded her arms and faced the door, "Come in."

The doors opened to reveal Liara, wearing a traditional asari cut green dress with a white and black stipe that went all the way down the front. She looked relaxed and confident, every bit the Matriarch's daughter. She graciously strode into the room and made her way to stand before Aria. Her voice was steeped confidence as she made her greetings, "Aria, thank you for seeing me." Trying to lighten her tone slightly, Liara handed Aria a bottle, "I thought that you might like this… I think it is one of Thea's favorites."

Looking over the bottle with curiosity, Aria accepted the gift. It was a bottle of Armali Sapphire, a very expensive and hard to find bottle of wine from Thessia and also one of Tevos's favorite indulgences. Aria's expression changed slightly as she accepted the gift, "Thank you and how do, you know what Thea likes?"

Maintaining her form, Liara placed her hand on her hip, narrowed her eyes and released a slight laugh, "I am a very good Shadow Broker. That is part of what I want to speak with you about."

Hearing Liara admit to being the Shadow Broker caused Aria to smile slightly and assured her full interest in their conversation. Aria motioned to the divan, placed the wine on the table and sat down again. She immediately assumed her casual position by crossing her legs and stretching out an arm on the back of the divan toward Liara. "You have my full attention… please go on."

"You know I have various agents throughout the galaxy. Most are currently focused on the Reapers and how they are advancing, but I have two on the Citadel currently and I would like them here on Omega."

Her brow furrowed and Aria did not look happy by the request, "Why would I want them here and who exactly are these agents?"

Ready for Aria's resistance, Liara persisted with her requests, "The first is Councilor Tevos's assistant, Neota. She provides me with updates on the Councilor and her various activities." Liara shot Aria a knowing glance at the mention of the 'various activities' and then continued, "She is also a fully trained commando that is quite efficient with biotics. I thought with all the attempts on the Council that Thea could benefit from a bodyguard as much as from a true assistant."

Laughing at the thought of Thea knowing her assistant was a Shadow Broker agent, Aria lost any hint of formality with Liara. "You are good… okay, I can see her use. Just don't think that she's having unlimited access to my data and I'll be keeping my eyes on her. What about the other agent?"

Liara broke her eye contact with Aria and suddenly looked uncomfortable with her next request, "I know a good bartender…"

Aria again broke out into a full roaring laugh and knew immediately who this 'bartender' really was and what they meant to Liara. "Oh… a bartender, hmm… You of course mean your father, Matriarch Aethyta." Hoping for a reaction, Aria watched Liara's expression and was a little disappointed that she didn't give her one.

Expecting the slight ribbing by Aria, Liara allowed her to finish laughing before she continued, "Yes, Aria… my father. She is not really one of my agents. In fact she was hired by the Matriarchs on Thessia to keep a watch on my activities. I would like to assure that she is safe and thought that knowing who and what she is to me; you would be able to do this."

Thinking about the implications of Liara's request, Aria stopped laughing and became more serious. She was still relaxed and her tone was friendly as she answered, "I think I can find her something to keep her out of trouble. Maybe I can have her be Patriarch's personal bartender… I think they would like each other." The smile returned to Aria's face at the thought of Patriarch and Aethyta together.

Although she did not fully get the meaning of whom Patriarch was, Liara was happy that Aria had agreed to help. "Thank you, Aria," Liara dipped her head to show respect to the elder asari. "We will be leaving soon, before everyone starts arriving. It is good of you to offer Omega as a home to the refugees."

"Yes, well it seemed like a good excuse to get Thea here." Aria knew that Liara would not totally buy her rebuttal, so she decided to change the questioning. The bravado snuck back into her voice, "Liara, what did Shepard think of our meld?"

Again, Liara looked a bit uncomfortable and struggled to maintain eye contact. "I showed her what happened. She was concerned…"

"You shared our experience with her!" Aria's cockiness was all but gone and for a moment, she lost her composure.

"Aria, she is my bond mate… you cannot expect that I would be able to keep that from her. If it matters, she is grateful to you… as am I."

For once, Aria did not have a quick comeback. She wasn't sure of how she felt about Shepard knowing her intimate thoughts; Liara was one thing but Shepard too.

Sensing the change in Aria, Liara decided that it might be time for her to head back to the Normandy. "I will be in touch after everyone has arrived." Liara rose off the divan and stood before Aria. She bowed her head and placed both palms out toward the asari.

Aria matched Liara's actions and placed her hands atop Liara's in acceptance of the asari equivalent of a hug.

"May the Goddess protect and guide you," Liara held the pose for a moment and then looked at her elder. "Thank you… for everything." She did not wait for a response and quickly left the apartment to return to the Normandy.

* * *

The work on Omega had continued almost non-stop and had left the station in a state that would allow its new residents to be comfortable. Afterlife was ready to help make people forget, Omega Clinic was stocked and staffed to aid those that were suffering and the markets were available to offer normalcy. Over all of it, Aria T'Loak took back her mantle as the Pirate Queen of Omega.

Aria watched the Normandy leave. Shepard had assured her that she was going to go after Cerberus. They were heading to Sanctuary to find out what had happened to the human population of Omega and they would share any of their findings. _She will hit those bastards hard. I bet she hates them almost as much as I do._

Normandy had been gone for a little over a week when the first shuttles from the Citadel started arriving. A steady stream of ships was heading through the relay and Aria's people were busy coordinating the landings and the renewed influx of refugees. All-in-all, the flow continued without incident and Aria had her people waiting to direct the refugees to their new homes. Seeing the bustle of the station had a revitalizing effect on Aria and all of Omega. Her spirits improved with each notification of a successful landing. The return of so many to Omega, her station and her protection allowed her to thrive.

Finally Aria received the call that she had been waiting for, the Councilor's shuttle was ready to dock. Aria started to feel anxious and euphoric about the imminent reunion with Thea. To help maintain her emotional control, she decided to wait in her quarters and allow Tevos to come to her. Instead of pacing in front of her window, Aria opened the bottle of Armali Sapphire and poured a small amount for herself. Closing her eyes, she deeply breathed in the bouquet of the wine; it smelled delicious and reminded her of Tevos. The moment was broken when the door chimed. _She's here…_ She smoothed out her leather outfit, placed the glass on her table and attempted to ready herself, "Come in."

As the door opened, the elegant form of Thea Tevos was revealed. Her presence commanded as much authority as Aria's and she carried herself with the pride associated with the asari Councilor. She was dressed formally in a floor length cerulean dress that looked like it had been tailored to show every curve of her well-formed body. Entering the room, she stopped to look up at Aria and exhaled deeply. Her composure broke slightly and her breath caught in her throat. Theas's chest tightened and she felt lightheaded, but she managed to hold her façade of calmness as she fought to speak, "Greetings Aria… You look well."

Equally taken but determined to remain in control, Aria motioned for Thea to come to her, "You look incredible... I see that you made it here okay…" Attempting to stay calm, Aria refilled her wine glass and poured one for Thea, "Armali Sapphire… a gift from Liara."

Thea approached and accepted the wine. She took a slow drink, closing her eyes and enjoying the rich tones of the wine, which was now both a reminder of Thessia and Aria. Placing the glass on the table, she returned her focus to Aria, "I must thank Liara, it is delicious…" At the mention of Liara, her expression changed slightly to show trepidation. Small lines formed around her eyes as she squinted and they filled with concern, "Aria, I read Shepard's reports… how could Cerberus experiment on people the way they did? Do you really think that they would try and target the Citadel?"

Reaching out with her hand and wanting to offer comfort, Aria took a step a closer, "I don't know why or how. All I know is that I stopped them and I'm glad that you're here, Thea."

Thea eagerly accepted her hand and brought it to her cheek. Their eyes locked and Thea was pulled into Aria's arms, she did not resist. Thea whispered, "I missed you… I am thankful that you insisted I come."

Aria kissed Thea's full lips and then teasingly nipped at the stripe that bisected her lower lip. She held Thea tighter and felt her lips part, allowing her tongue access to her lover's mouth.

Moaning slightly, Thea probed back at Aria's tongue with her own. She felt the worry over Cerberus shift into her desire for Aria. Pushing their bodies closer together, Thea started to slide Aria's leather coat off her shoulders.

Reading her cues, Aria found the zipper of Thea's dress and began pulling it down to reveal her well-toned body and firm breasts. Her hand moved from the zipper to cup her breast. Thea's dress dropped to the floor in a mound around her feet.

Struggling with Aria's tight leather pants, Tevos finally pulled away from Aria's embrace and used her most seductive voice on her lover, "Take those ridiculous pants off." She backed up into the bedroom, not wanting to take her eyes off of Aria.

Quickly removing her remaining clothes, Aria followed Thea into her bedroom, making sure she admired the view in front of her, "Satisfied?"

Reaching up to touch her breast in an attempt to tease Aria, Thea smiled seductively and proceeded to stretch out across Aria's obscenely large bed. "Are you going to watch or are you going to join me?"

Aria was sporting an evil grin that betrayed her pleasure at watching her lover caress herself, "I thought I might watch for a while… please continue."

The mood was suddenly broken by an incessant buzz being emitted by Thea's omni-tool. Thea sat up suddenly, all playfulness was immediately gone as she went to the pile of her clothes to find the source of the noise. She activated the device, but limited the video ability.

"What is going on?" Aria was suddenly concerned by the change in Thea and moved to her side.

"It is an automated alert from the Citadel and is a special frequency that is reserved for the Council only." Her voice betrayed her concern and she looked pale, but she continued, "It looks like a fleet of ships with Cerberus identification docked at the Citadel a few hours ago. The warning only went out once before it was blocked."

They both knew what was happening. Aria could only think to comfort her lover. She realized that if she had not insisted, Thea would be on the Citadel and would be a prime target of Cerberus. She instinctively reached for her in an attempt to support and protect her. "You're safe, Thea… You knew that this could happen, but you're safe with me."

Thea was in shock, but she accepted Aria's embrace and allowed herself to be held. She felt sick at the thought of what could be happening to the Citadel. She also felt guilty that she was safe and in the arms of her lover, while so many were at the mercy of terrorists.

Aria tenderly picked up Thea and carried her to the bed. She climbed in next to her and held her, while gently stroking her crests. Her own emotions were in flux as she started thinking back to her brief captivity and the realization that she could've lost Thea if she had not listened. It was too much for even the Pirate Queen to fathom. She kissed her neck and followed upwards to her jawline.

Pulling Aria closer, Thea kissed her mouth and lightly licked her lips. She needed the strength and support that Aria could fill her with. Her eyes started to swirl to black and she reached out to Aria with her mind.

Not hesitating to let her in, Aria opened up to Thea. Their two souls became one. Hurt became comfort, fear became strength and anger became love. No words were needed between them as they held each other, content to just be together.


End file.
